


Survival Mode

by BabyBoomBoom0029



Series: On Your Side: The Chronicles of Danny and Linda Reagan [27]
Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Genre: Camping, Caught off-guard, Drama, F/M, Family, Family Trip, Fear, Naked Danny, Reagan men get injured, Romance, Suspense, Thriller, fight for survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-05 15:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 33,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12192393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyBoomBoom0029/pseuds/BabyBoomBoom0029
Summary: The Reagan's were always a tight-knit family. They were at each other's houses, spent their time off of work together, had Sunday dinner together after meeting at Church in the morning. When Frank Reagan talked with his son's about the next big camping trip and not feeling as if he'd be able to take young Sam Reagan in another three years, his two sons formed a plan. They'd celebrate their father's birthday with an early camping trip. The Reagan men would go on one last big camping trip together knowing that when the next Reagan turned thirteen, Frank would do as his father did, stay home with the Reagan women and younger children. No one expected a camping trip they'd gone on many times before would turn into a fight for survival.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the longest break between ending a story and starting a new one I've done during this whole series. I'm now home for the week, was kept in the hospital overnight last night, released today. I still feel like crap but I'm home and feeling better thanks to lots of medicine and the amazing, wonderful and kind doctors and nurses at my local hospital who not only made sure I was okay, also calmed Kevin down when he kept jumping every time I'd start having breathing problems again while we were in the ER and through the night. I've had to have my stomach pumped before and this trip to the ER was way scarier. Not being able to breathe is the scariest thing ever. Anyway, now that I'm home and feeling good enough to not sleep my days away I figured it's a good time to get working on the next story in the series. 
> 
> So we last ended around Valentine's Day. This one picks up in late March of the same year. So just a tiny time jump.

Lieutenant Danny Reagan liked working out. He was getting older and knew working out was part of taking care of himself. He listened to his wife when she pestered him to eat better and healthier. He regularly went to the gym with his little brother, Jamie. Sometimes their father would join or one of Danny's older sons. Danny would work out at home showing Grace, Faith, and Sam how to protect themselves. Even little Spense wanted in on the action when Daddy was showing the big kids how to stay safe. Danny carefully taught his wife self-defense she wouldn't learn in her classes with Margaret, Kathleen, Lucy, and Beaz. Linda had never been one for an exercise regimen until her doctor started to comment on how it would do her good to get in the habit of a routine every day. Since Linda had come back from the doctor with that news Danny was on top of her every night after they put the kids to bed to work out with him for a little while. Linda had found her energy levels had improved and her cholesterol levels were dropping to a healthier level. Currently, the Reagan house was quiet with sleeping children while Linda sighed heavily. She and Danny were in the basement. Danny had told her he wanted to show her a few self-defense moves tonight. Danny meticulously moved a few things out of their way so no one would trip and get hurt.

Linda yawned. She'd had a long day at work. Not only was she in the process of hiring a few new nurses, they were short staffed for the day and had three patients that caused so much trouble in the Emergency Department, NYPD had to be called to arrest all three patients, "Danny, do we have to do this tonight?" Linda knew she was whining. But all she wanted to do was lay down and close her eyes.

"Twenty minutes." Danny replied as he moved a few free weights off to the side.

"Ten?" Linda smirked. She knew he probably wouldn't agree but it never hurt to flirt and ask.

"Twenty." Danny shook his head, "C'mon Babe. I promise it will go by quick."

"Danny, I'm tired." Linda sighed.

"You need to make sure you're doing this every day. You're supposed to be exercising twenty minutes a day." Danny repeated the words straight from the doctor's mouth.

"I know but can't I skip today and do an extra ten tomorrow, then an extra ten the next day?" Linda grumbled.

"Just twenty minutes." Danny walked over to his wife, "It's good for your heart." Danny frowned. The news from Linda's doctor hadn't been that great. All this time Linda was worried about Danny and the stress of his job getting to him. Neither one suspected it would be Linda who would need to be watched carefully.

"I know it is but I'm exhausted." Linda pouted.

Danny flattened his palm against Linda's chest above her breastbone, "Just a quick twenty minutes. Just enough to get your heart rate up."

"I have another way we could get my heart rate up." Linda slid her arms around her husband's neck with a coy grin.

"You do, huh?" Danny wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

"I do." Linda pecked Danny's lips, "And it's much more fun than practicing self-defense." Linda kissed him slowly.

Danny spread his fingers across the small of her back, "That's true." He tilted his head to kiss her deeply, "I have a good idea." He said.

"We skip the workout and have sex instead?" Linda smiled hoping Danny would cave.

"You work out for twenty minutes then we have sex." Danny kissed her again, "Nice try though." 

Linda's sliver of hope crashed, "Danny." 

"I'll even rub your back after." He flirted.

"And my feet." Linda stated.

Danny chuckled, "And your feet." He kissed her lips one more time before letting her go. Danny went back to work clearing a small area for the two of them. He was going to teach Linda how to get out of a hold when someone picked her up from behind. Danny put his chin on his wife's shoulder from behind. He pressed his lips to her neck. He knew she was annoyed with him. He could read her body language like a book. Her crossed arms and tight lips told him that if she could she'd have snuck upstairs while his back was turned. Danny hugged her from behind. He sighed softly.

"I know." Linda cut him off before he could speak, "You just want me healthy and safe."

"Linda. I'm not trying to get you upset." Danny said softly, "But this is important for you."

"I know it is." Linda nodded her head, "But I don't have to like it." 

"No. You don't. But you can use that irritation to push yourself." Danny suggested, "Maybe I'll pick up some of those dark chocolates you like on my way home tomorrow." 

"But I still get my back and feet rubbed tonight right?" Linda questioned with a grin.

"Of course." Danny held her close for a long moment before carefully instructing her what he wanted her to practice.

* * *

Much to Linda's annoyance, she followed through with Danny's instruction for almost thirty minutes before she was finally rewarded, falling asleep as Danny expertly rubbed her back. Danny watched his wife sleep soundly beside him. He trailed his fingertip up and down her back, drawing non-sense patterns and shapes while his mind drifted. He thought of their past, present, and future together. He thought about where their lives started together, and where they'd ended up. His thoughts drifted to their children and grandchildren wondering which grandchild would make them great-grandparents first. He thought about the two newest babies in the Reagan family and how they were growing so fast already. Their children were growing so fast. Spense was almost two-and-a-half years old, and Jack would be twenty-nine-years old this year. Danny's thoughts moved from their children to his wife. Ideas bounced around his head for what to do for his and Linda's Thirtieth anniversary. He smiled thinking about their wedding. Never in his life did he make such a good decision as the day he decided to ask Linda to marry him.

Danny eventually fell asleep beside his wife, his arm curled around her, holding her close. Protecting her while they slept. Keeping her safe from demons, both real and in their dreams. He knew he'd pushed her tonight. But he'd much rather push her than lose her. Danny shifted unconsciously in his sleep, practically melting into Linda. Her warm body against his the only thing to keep his own nightmares away. The couple would sleep peacefully together throughout the night, having no indication, no idea, as to what terror would soon fall upon their family.


	2. Chapter 2

Linda woke up slowly the following morning. She knew Danny was awake by the trail of soft kisses he was pressing against her skin. His hand running up and down her side. Linda sighed in content, "Morning." She said softly with her eyes still closed.

"You're gorgeous." Danny flirted. He wrapped an arm around his wife's waist pulling her close. 

"You're flirty this morning." Linda commented as Danny threw his leg over hers effectively trapping her against his body.

"The kids are asleep. We have some extra time this morning." Danny kissed her cheek, "We could put that time to good use." He slipped a hand under her pajama top.

Linda giggled softly, "Oh I see. You're looking for something."

"I always look." Danny countered, "I just need permission to touch." He hooked a finger in the waistband of her pants.

Linda turned to lay on her back so she could look at Danny. She opened her mouth to speak when they heard a familiar crash from Sam's bedroom, "Kids are awake."

"Maybe just Sam?" Danny wondered.

"TAM!" Spense's loud voice yelled from his room. He'd officially outgrown the crib and was in a toddler bed but Danny and Linda set a gate in front of his bedroom door so he couldn't wander around at night if he got out of bed. His older sibling rooms weren't babyproofed and Spense was still at the stage where toys routinely went into his mouth. Linda wondered if he'd ever outgrow it.

"Girls will be up soon too. Rain check?" Linda kissed her husband.

"Of course." Danny cupped his wife's cheek, kissing her sweetly.

Linda slipped out of bed and tossed her robe on to change Spense's diaper and check on the kids while Danny got up and made their bed. As much as he'd rather lay in bed with his wife, they had church in a few hours and Linda and Frank were making a roast for dinner tonight.

Linda walked down the hall to her youngest son's room. She opened the safety gate, "Good morning." She picked Spense up frowning when she felt his cold, wet, pajamas, "What happened?"

"Wet." Spense smiled.

"I know you're wet." Linda sat Spense on the changing table, "Lay down so Mommy can get these wet clothes off you." She pulled off his sticky, smelly, pajamas to find his diaper half falling off and almost dry, "Did you play with your diaper?"

"Wet." Spense repeated.

"C'mon. Let's go see Daddy. He can clean you up while Mommy cleans your room. It's stinky in here." Linda wiped Spense with a baby wipe before picking him up and carrying him, naked through the hall to her bedroom.

Danny poked his head out of the closet when Linda walked in, "What happened to him?" Danny asked.

"He must have played with the diaper. He peed through everything. He needs a bath and his sheets need to be changed." Linda sighed.

"Want to take a shower with Daddy?" Danny asked.

"Big boy!" Spense nodded his head.

"Alright. C'mon." Danny grabbed his clothes, leading Spense to the bathroom to get him cleaned up while Linda took care of his sheets, dirty clothes and got the other three kids up. 

Linda was pleasantly surprised to see Frank in the kitchen already prepping the roast and making breakfast for the family, "Coffee's hot." Frank smiled.

"Bless you." Linda sighed grabbing herself a cup.

"Everything okay?" Frank asked.

"Spense found his diaper in the middle of the night and took it half-way off. He peed through everything. Even his stuffed bear needs to be washed." Linda shook her head, "Breakfast smells great." 

"I was up early." Frank smiled.

"Do you mind feeding the kids so I can start this laundry? Danny's cleaning Spense up. He should be down any minute." Linda said.

"Sure." Frank grinned, "Want me to make you a plate?" 

"Thanks but I'm going to shower when I'm done starting this laundry. I'll eat before we leave for church though." Linda said, appreciative of her father-in-law. He always tried to help out when he could. Linda carried the laundry basket down the stairs. If she was already doing laundry because Spense wet through everything, she figured she might as well do it all. She'd stripped all the kid's beds and taken their dirty laundry from the basket in the kid's bathroom. Linda started the first load with Spense's dirty bedding before heading upstairs to shower and get dressed for church.

As she stood in the shower Linda hoped the rest of her day would be better than the rocky morning they were already having. Grace was crying because she had her period and wanted to wear a dress today but didn't want to wear a dress when she had her period. Faith was mad that Sam got a bigger pancake than her. Sam had brought toys to the table which wasn't allowed, and after being asked to put them away twice and not listening, his toys were taken away by Daddy. The only one who seemed relatively happy was Spense who had started Linda's day with wet, smelly sheets. Linda rubbed the conditioner through her hair being sure to rinse it all out before stepping out of the shower. She gasped when she saw Danny leaning against the sink holding her towel in his arms.

"Damnit Danny!" Linda reached for her glasses.

"Sorry." He grinned with a soft laugh he was trying to hide. Danny unfolded the towel before letting Linda glide into his embrace. He wrapped the towel around her, holding her tight in the process.

"Did you eat?" She asked him.

"No. Waiting for you." Danny kissed her forehead.

"You didn't have to do that." Linda leaned against Danny, letting him fuss over her, making sure she was warm and dry.

"I wanted to." Danny paused his actions, "Did I tell you how much I love you this morning?"

Linda shook her head, "Not yet."

"Huh." Danny hooked a finger under her chin, tilting it up so he could see her eyes, "I love you." He said sealing his sincere words with a sweet kiss.

"I love you more." Linda smiled.

"Love you the most." Danny kissed her again.

"Mom! I have nothing to wear!" Grace yelled through the closed bedroom door. She banged on the door, "MOM! Don't you listen to me?! MOM!"

"Grace!" Danny warned. She knew better than to continue to bang and yell if it wasn't an emergency. She was being obstinate and Danny had already told her to fix her attitude today.

Linda sighed, "I'll get dressed and go see what I can do with her." She tossed the towel in the laundry bin as she walked out of the bathroom.

Danny stared at his wife's naked body as she walked away from him, "She's been like that since she woke up."

Linda put on a bra and panties before slipping on a dress. She sat on the bed pulling up a pair of warm leggings. It might be close to Spring but the weather was still cold. It had just snowed a few days ago dusting the City in a thin white blanket that was expected to melt over the following week, "Great." Linda sighed. She walked out of the room leaving Danny to finish getting himself ready before they both sat down to eat breakfast before their day became even more busy and hectic with grandchildren, more children, and family in and out of the house for the day.


	3. Chapter 3

"Why do I  _always_ have to help set the table?" Groaned Grace Reagan. She was having the  _worst_ day of her life. Not only did she have her period, she had to wear pants today when she wanted to wear a dress. Then she wanted to go to her friend's house for a little bit but wasn't allowed to because her father said she had a bad attitude that morning. Now it was almost time for dinner and she was elected to help set the table while all the other kids played.

"Because you were asked to." Linda handed Grace some dishes.

"It's not fair. Sam never sets the table." Grace mumbled.

"Sam's making sure the little ones have their sippy cups and the high chair trays are clean. And Faith is setting the kids table with Ava and Emma. All the big kids help." Linda reminded her.

"Sucks to be the oldest." Jack patted his little sister on the head, "I'll help you." He took the plates from her hands guiding her out of the kitchen before she got herself into more trouble today.

Linda turned back to Margaret, "So tell me quickly before someone else walks into the kitchen." She winced as she turned around too fast, twisting her back the wrong way.

Margaret smiled wide, "You can't tell anyone. Jamie said no one can know just yet." Margaret was bouncing up and down, "Jamie and I are trying to have another baby." 

"Oh, that's great!" Linda hugged her sister-in-law.

"He doesn't want to jinx it. Which means we aren't supposed to say anything until we're actually pregnant." Margaret smiled, hugging Linda back, "I want to have another one before I turn Forty and Jamie does too."

"I'm so excited for you two." Linda told her.

"Excited for what?" Danny walked into the room, with Jamie behind him.

"You told her?!" Jamie said to his wife.

"Uhm..." Margaret tried to hide her guilty grin.

"I can't believe you told her." Jamie shook his head.

"Oh be quiet, Harvard. You told me twenty minutes ago you two were working on another kid." Danny teased his little brother.

Linda opened the oven to take the roast out, "How can you be mad at her if you told Danny before Margaret told me?" She grabbed two pot holders off the counter only to have Danny take them from her and lift the pan from the stove. He'd seen her flinch as she bent over, "I'm fine." Linda said softly to him as she started to peel back the foil from the pan.

Danny put his hand on the small of her back rubbing it in small circles with his thumb, "You shooting for boy or girl?" He asked Jamie and Margaret. He let Linda's comment go. If she was really in pain she'd have told him. But it still stuck to the back of his mind to make sure she was feeling alright. Ever since her blood tests came back with high cholesterol and the doctor insisted on her exercising every day to keep her heart healthy, Danny had been slightly more over-protective than normal. He didn't want anything to happen to her. Every time she'd mention an ache or pain Danny was at her side ready to assist and help with whatever she needed.

"I want another boy." Jamie said, "I can't be outnumbered by women."

"Grace, Faith and I are outnumbered." Linda said.

"Yeah but males outnumbering females is okay. I can't deal with more than one period at a time and it's already happening with Grace so I can only imagine when it happens to Jo what it's going to be like." Jamie shook his head, "It's the worst week of the months and it never gets better." Jamie spoke not realizing Margaret staring at him.

"You might want to watch yourself there, Kid." Danny sipped his beer with a grin on his face.

"Please keep talking about how my period is the worst week of the month for you." Margaret teased her husband.

"I mean, it's the worst for you. It must be. No one has a good week that week." Jamie tried to explain better.

"Mmmhhmmm." Margaret smiled.

"We eating or what?" Frank walked through the kitchen carrying Gus followed by a gaggle of grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

"I'll carry this." Danny took the roast from the counter, carrying it to the table. The Reagan family sat at their assigned seats splitting the kids and adults into two tables.

"Who's turn is it to say, Grace?" Frank asked around the room.

"Jack's." Kathleen answered.

Everyone bowed their heads while Jack said Grace. Linda felt Danny's hand reach for hers. Linda looked at her husband out of the corner of her eye. Jack's words fading into the lull of the moment as Linda's thoughts drifted to her husband.

"And please let my wife, remember that we now have four children instead of two so next time she doesn't forget about the babies. Amen." Jack said jokingly.

Kathleen paused a moment waiting for the family to unfold their hands, "Jack!" 

"What?!" He shrugged his shoulders, "You  _did_ forget the babies."

"What did she forget about them?" Jamie asked.

"She forgot they were in the car." Jack explained.

"Oh my God!" Margaret gasped.

"Not for long enough to hurt them!" Katheleen sighed, "Besides. It's Jack's fault."

"I was at work. How is it my fault?" Jack laughed.

"If you didn't frustrate me I'd have remembered. Instead, I was pissed at you and forgot about them for a few minutes." Kathleen reminded him.

"How did you manage that?" Sean asked, taking a bite of his meal.

"I had a lot on my mind." Kathleen frowned, "Okay. Let me explain the whole story."

Danny laughed, "Did you really forget them or just lock the car and unlock it after you remembered?"

"Both? OKay. So I was going to pick up Maddie and Gus and the twins were napping in the car. I've got a lot on my mind but mostly, twins napping, drive the car and pick up kids. Then Jack calls with some stupid argument, which, P.S., I'm right by the way. So now I have drive car, pick up kids, mad at the husband. Some how I lost twins napping." Kathleen explained, "I get to daycare, walk-in getting Gus then walk to get Maddie. Her teacher says, 'where are the babies?' And that's when I realized, I left the twins in the car. It was only maybe ten minutes. Not even. Maybe five. They were fine." 

"It's okay. She's only a social worker. Not like she takes care of keeping kids safe every day or anything." Jack snickered.

"Oh, hush. If you weren't so annoying with whatever stupid thing you called for, I would have remembered." Kathleen teased him.

"It's okay Kathleen. I dropped Jack when he was a baby." Linda stuck up for her daughter-in-law.

"That explains it." Kathleen laughed.

"Wait, seriously?" Jack asked.

"Yeah." Danny nodded his head, "You were about six months old and your mother tripped down the stairs holding you."

"And you never told me this?" Jack wondered.

"It wasn't a big deal then. Not a big deal now." Danny assured his son. 

The conversation continued to flow between the family as they ate their meal. Kids jumped into their own conversation at their own table while Faith, Sam, and Grace considered themselves as officially big kids seeing as how they were the only kids allowed to sit at the adult table at the moment. It was a Reagan rite of passage at age ten. There were many traditions for the Reagan family. Linda wondered how many of them would continue beyond her and Danny. She squeezed Danny's hand as she sipped her wine. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Neither one knew how much a small family tradition they would celebrate early would cause the family to cross paths with a deadly psychopath.

 


	4. Chapter 4

After dinner, the Reagan family split. The kids ran around the house playing with each other while the adults took up the living room.

"C'mon Dad. You have to have  _some_ idea of what you want for dinner on your birthday this year." Jamie sighed.

"Whatever the girls pick will be fine." Frank smiled at Margaret and Linda.

"At least give us something you're looking forward to." Linda prompted.

Frank thought for a moment before nodding his head, "I'm looking forward to this." He said honestly, "I'm looking forward to spending time with my family. Watching all my grandchildren grow their families and watch my great-grandchildren grow. Sunday dinner started out as something very small. When your mother was alive it was just us and you kids." He said to Danny and Jamie, "And you've added on wives, and children, and your own grandchildren. Never in all my years did I anticipate seeing three tables be set for Sunday dinner." He said referring to the kid's table, the adult's table and the small plastic one that sat in the corner of the dining room where the little kids who were too big for a high chair but too little to eat by themselves sat, "Started with just the six of us. Now there's over twenty of us, every Sunday. And it gets harder and harder to do this as the days go on. I know that it's not a common thing anymore. But I'm thankful that we still make the time for it. That I'm able to see all these babies grow up." Frank sighed," There's a lot of traditions that I won't be a part of one day. Some of them I fear I've already done for the final time without knowing it. But I'm glad to know that this is one that will stick around."

"You got plenty of time." Danny said to his father.

Frank nodded his head, "For a lot of things. But I'll miss a lot too. In thirteen years I won't be able to take Josh and Elijah on our camping trip. I'll be lucky to take Sam in three years let alone anyone besides maybe Sam or Charlie in about eight years. The next one after that is Will and that's ten years." Frank said.

"What camping trip?" Lucy asked.

"It started with my dad. When I turned thirteen we went camping. In the woods, in a tent. Real camping. Then I took Danny when he was thirteen. And Jamie and Joe. Jack and Sean went when they turned thirteen. It's a family tradition. The boys turn thirteen and we go camping." Frank smiled.

"Why not the girls?" Kathleen asked.

"Erin never wanted to and neither did Nicky. So it became a guy only event." Jamie explained.

"Yeah. After Nicky, the next girl in line would be Grace and by then it was already just a Reagan men thing." Sean replied.

"So what? You all just go out, pee on your tree and survive in the woods for the night?" Margaret teased her husband.

"Three days." Danny informed her, "And the only one that peed on a tree last time was Jack and Sean. They were having a distance contest."

"Our boys are going to be gross like that aren't they?" Kathleen sighed to Jack who just chuckled kissing his wife's cheek.

"Give it back!" One of the kids yelled from the other room.

"That's not yours!" Someone else hollered.

"NO!" Someone else started to cry.

"DADDY!" A fourth kid screamed.

A collective sigh fell upon the group of adults. Sean looked over to Jack who had put his finger on his nose. Sean quickly copied followed by Jamie who noticed his nephews fast movements. Danny looked from his brother to his two oldest sons, "Really, Guys?" He looked at his father.

"All my children are in this room." Frank shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright. I'll go." Danny shook his head as he stood from the couch to go see what the kids were arguing about. When he walked into the other room he saw Spense and Will crying, "What happened?" Danny walked over to the toddlers.

"Spense took Will's blocks." Ava reported.

"But Will hit him on the head with the Lego car!" Emma protested. 

"They no share!" Maddie pointed to Will and Spense, "Gus-Gus wanna pway too!"

"Faith and Charlie are watching a movie even though I said we can't watch TV right now and they didn't listen." Grace tattled.

"Okay." Danny sighed, "Let's pick up the toys and put a movie on for everyone." Danny picked up Spense and Will after making sure neither one was hurt, "I'll take you two and Gus." Danny said, "All the rest of you, pick up all these toys."

"Want a hand?" Jamie appeared behind him.

"Margaret send you in?" Danny grinned.

"Yeah. Jack and Sean are on their way too." Jamie picked up Gus.

"Take them and I'll get these guys set with a movie." Danny looked over his shoulder seeing Jack walk in the room with Sean.

"Dad, Sam's sitting at the kitchen table all alone." Sean told his father.

"Why'd your brother go to the kitchen?" Danny asked Grace.

"He covered his ears and said he was going to color." Grace said simply as she picked up the toys.

Danny nodded his head, "You guys take care of this. I'll check on Sam." Danny kissed Spense's head where a small bump had formed before walking into the kitchen. He shut the door behind him. Sam was sitting at the kitchen table with his legs folded up. He had crayons strewn all over the table and his coloring book wide open. Sam was intently coloring a page in his Rescue Heroes coloring book Danny pulled up a chair next to his son, "Hey Rookie." Danny smiled, "That's a nice picture."

"Iths Politheman Paul." Sam said, "See." He pointed to the letters on the page, "That sayd P-Paul." Sam sounded out the name again as he tried to read.

"Good job." Danny grinned, "You're so smart. Hey, why are you in here?" Why not play with the other kids?"

"Iths loud there. Iths not loud here." Sam shook his head.

"No. I suppose it's not." Danny agreed.

"Daddy. Wantto color?" Sam asked.

"Of course I want to color with you." Danny picked up a red crayon starting to color the siren and lights, spending a few quiet minutes with his son before going back to the living room declaring a job well done by all the fathers until Faith pushed Charlie to squeeze between him and the arm of the couch. Causing him to accidentally push Grace who spilled the water cup she wasn't supposed to have all over Maddie's head, who was sitting on the floor next to Grace.

Linda watched Danny and Jamie attempt to handle it before she and Margaret jumped in. It was going to be a long week.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Commissioner Frank Reagan was sitting at his desk in the new offices at One Police Plaza when he heard a knock at his door, "Yes." Frank looked up.

"Sir. Lieutenant, Detective, and both Officer's Reagan are here to see you." Detective Baker opened the door.

"All four of them?" Frank sighed. He was busy with paperwork and wondered what family problem caused all four of them to need to see him at the same time.

"Yes, Sir." Baker nodded her head.

Jack was the first in the door taking a seat on the couch with Sean sitting at the other end. Danny settled between his sons while Jamie took one chair. Jamie set a paper takeout bag on the coffee table in front of him. All of the Reagan men looked over at Frank expecting him to sit in the only open chair. Frank nodded his head towards Baker, getting up from his desk. He waited until Baker shut the door to take his seat, "Okay boys. What's this about?"

"Your birthday." Jack smiled.

"What about my birthday?" Frank asked.

"We want to take you camping." Jamie told him.

"After your whole schpeel the other night, Jamie and I started talking and you're right. You might not get to do some things anymore and as the little kids get older there are traditions you won't be able to be a part of because you just won't be able to do it anymore. So, we want to do one last big Reagan men camping trip." Danny explained.

"No one's turning thirteen." Frank reminded him.

"I know. But we'll go anyway." Danny said, "Besides, we're going for you."

"What do you think Grandpa?" Sean asked.

Frank nodded his head slowly taking their words into consideration. It was sweet what the boys wanted to do. But Frank hated that this was the last time he'd be able to go with his sons and grandsons. He knew that in a few years it would be much more difficult if not impossible for him to participate, "Okay. One last camping trip."

"Good. We're leaving this weekend." Danny sprung the news to his father.

"This is going to be so much fun." Sean smiled.

"It's going to be just like old times." Jack said to his little brother, "We'll race up that trail again and I'll still beat you."

"Shut up. You're pushing thirty. Doubt you can do it and not get winded." Sean teased.

"Twenty bucks and babysitting for a night, says I'll win." Jack said to Sean.

"Deal." Sean stuck his hand out for Jack to shake.

"And just like that, they were teenagers all over again." Danny teased both his sons, "C'mon. You two need to get back to work."

"Yes, Sir." Jack instantly replied.

Danny ushered out his sons while Jamie stayed behind to have lunch with their father. Lieutenant Danny Reagan had been a cop for decades. Yet it never crossed his mind, that a fun, family outing would turn deadly.

* * *

 That night Danny and Linda were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when Danny told her about how his and Jamie's plan worked.

"So the plan is to leave Thursday so we can be back for Sunday dinner." Danny pulled the trash bag out of the can to tie up.

"You're not staying until Monday this time?" Linda stacked leftovers in the fridge.

"No. I've got a meeting Monday morning I can't miss." Danny replied. He took the trash outside to toss in the bin.

Linda shut the fridge door, "I think if you're leaving Thursday, we should have Kathleen bring the kids over and stay here." Linda shouted through the open door.

"Why?" Danny walked back into the kitchen headed for the sink to wash his hands.

"Because she'll be home alone with four kids, two of which are only two months old. And if you think about it. They have only had the twins home for a few weeks now. She's going to need the extra hands." Linda explained.

"Yeah. Jack did mention not being one-hundred percent sure he was going. He said he feels bad for leaving Kathleen with the kids but that she said she understood that it's just bad timing. I'm pretty sure he's driving up behind in his own car so he can come home if she needs him too." Danny turned to his wife.

"See, then it's perfect. Jack doesn't  need to feel bad or worry and Kathleen will have an extra set of hands." Linda smiled.

"You going to be okay with everyone here?" Danny asked.

Linda nodded her head, "I'll be just fine." She pecked Danny's lips, "Besides, it will be good for all of you to have a guys weekend." Linda turned to walk away from Danny only for his hands to hold onto her hips, "Can I help you?" She grinned.

"There's a lot you can help me with." Danny flirted.

"Oh?" Linda tilted her head. Danny dipped his head slightly, softly pressing his lips against hers. The palms of his hands flattening against her waist holding her close, "I'm going to miss you this weekend." Linda confessed as they parted slightly.

"I'll miss you too." Danny said not reading between the lines of Linda's words to him. If he had noticed the pause before she spoke he'd have asked what was wrong and why she'd miss him.

Linda slipped her arms around Danny's neck, taking a deep breath as if she was breathing him in. The two stayed in each other's embrace until the door to the kitchen opened.

"Mommy, I hungwy." Sam walked around the island to his father.

Linda looked down at him, "How about you get your sisters and brother and I'll get everyone dessert?" 

"Yeah!" Sam said excitedly. He ran out of the room to get Faith, Grace, and Spense

" _Everyone_ gets dessert?" Danny kissed Linda's neck.

Linda flushed red, "Your dessert will have to wait."

Danny sighed, "It's worth the wait." 

"Good answer." Linda laughed. The kitchen started to fill with kids while Linda pulled out the cookie jar. She let each kid take two cookies before scooping a little vanilla ice cream. Linda pressed the ice cream between the cookies to make a sandwich for each kid, "You'll have to let me know what you guys will need for the trip so I can pick it up at the grocery store this week." Linda reminded Danny who sat next to the kids while they ate.

"I've got to pull the fishing rods out of the garage too." Danny said.

"We're going fishing?!" Grace asked.

"No. Daddy's going camping with Uncle Jamie, Grandpa, Jack, and Sean." Linda sat down at the table with a dish of ice cream with two spoons in it.

"I want to go!" Faith smiled.

"Me too!" Grace nodded her head.

"It's not for you two. It's a guys only trip." Danny said taking a bite of his and Linda's dessert.

"Daddy? I go?" Sam asked.

"Sorry, Rookie. You're too little." Danny replied.

"I'm big." Sam countered.

"I know but you're not quite big enough for this trip." Danny said.

Sam sighed. He finished his ice cream in silence as the girls protested the fact that the boys had a special trip and they didn't get to go.

* * *

With dessert cleaned up and kids in bed, Linda was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom frowning at a few wrinkles she'd found after she washed her face that night.

"Spense is still awake but at least he's in his room." Danny shut the bedroom door behind him, "He's yelling his ABC's." 

Linda laughed, "Yelling as in protest or just loudly singing?" 

"I think it's a form of bedtime protest." Danny walked into the bathroom behind her, "You okay?" He wondered why she was staring so intently at the mirror.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Linda frowned, "I can see more wrinkles near my eyes." 

"You're beautiful." Danny kissed her cheek.

Linda sighed, "You're a flirt." 

"I was stating a fact." Danny told her.

"A fact?" Linda turned towards her husband.

"Yes." Danny ran a finger down the side of Linda's face, "You are beautiful. That's a fact." He kissed her sweetly.

Linda pulled him closer to her. Her hands slid over his waist and down to squeeze his ass. Danny pressed Linda backward until she hit the countertop. His lips broke free from hers as he migrated south. Kissing his way down her cheek and jaw to her neck and back up again. Linda's hands slipped under Danny's shirt, making their way up and down his back. Danny lifted his wife, her legs automatically locking around his waist as he carried her to their bed. Danny's lips barely leaving her skin as he laid her down. Linda took the opportunity as Danny crawled on top of her to yank her shirt over her head, tossing it on the ground to be forgotten about. Her lips parted as she sighed in content allowing Danny to slip his tongue into her mouth, pressing her body between him and the mattress. He slowly took his time making sure every inch of his wife's skin was being worshipped. Danny threw his shirt on the ground. He frowned feeling uncomfortable as he strained against the zipper on his pants. Linda's hand pressing against him making it hard to coordinate taking his pants off and loving his wife. Linda wrapped her legs around Danny knowing he was throwing him off. She rolled them over so Danny was flat on his back before getting to work on his belt. His pants and boxers quickly followed. Giving him no more than a few seconds Linda slid her mouth over Danny in one quick movement. Danny's breath caught in his throat as she took him by surprise. Danny's hand tangled in her hair as she bobbed up and down. She swirled her tongue around as she went from tip to shaft in one movement. Danny's body was on fire as his wife expertly pushed every button. His body tensed as she pushed him closer and closer to the edge until finally the feeling of him hitting her throat making him shake to the core. Linda smirked as Danny repeated her name over and over. Linda swallowed until she was sure he was done. She slowly licked his body leaving a light kiss before lifting her head. She licked her lips, smiling at her husband.

Linda didn't expect Danny to flip them. He pulled off her pajama pants and panties. Linda gasped in surprise as Danny's mouth descended upon her breast. One hand bracing himself so his full weight wasn't on her. The other hand pinching and squeezing the nipple while his mouth worked the other. Danny switched sides pressing his body against hers. Danny kissed a trail down Linda's body. He hooked one of her legs over his shoulder. Danny teased his wife by letting his hot breath ghost over her, watching her body twitch at the prospect of him toucing her. Danny kissed Linda's innner thigh down to her knee and back up. His mouth taunting her until his name fell from her lips in a desperate plea. Danny's teeth sunk into his wife's milky skin marking her in a spot only he could see. Once satisfied he pressed his tounge against the spot hoping to skiss away the pain. Danny's mouth shifted finally giving in to Linda's whimpers. He slid his tounge inside her, tasting her while his fingers went to work. It wasn't long before Danny had pulled Linda to the edge, keeping her teetering as he backed off, then started again. He watched as her breathing evened out before pushing her over. Danny flicked his tounge aginst her with his lips surrounding her. His fingers pumped in and out of her as her muscles tightened against them. Danny didn't let up until he felt her body conulse a second time. With every second that passed Danny felt himself grow more arroused just pleasureing his wife. By the time she had started to breathe again Danny had pulled back. He shifted just enough before sliding into his wife.

Danny pulled out slowly before sliding back into her at an agonizingly slow pace, keeping her sensitive body on high. Linda threw her arms above her head as she sighed his name. Danny's lips connected with hers as he covered her body with his. HIs hips slowly moving to pump in and out of her. Linda shifted her arms only to have Danny grab them both. He wrapped one of his large hands around her wrists keeping her hands above her head. His eyes searching hers for any concern before continuing. Linda's leg dropped from Danny's shoulder to his waist as she wrapped them both around him begging him for more. Danny nodded his head. He kissed her once again before slamming into her. His pace hard and fast. Linda's breathing became more rapid as Danny's fingers slipped between them. He rolled his forefinger and thumb over the hard nub on his wife's body. If his mouth wasn't on hers, he was sure her yelp would have been heard through the house. He swallowed his name on her lips as she squeezed around him. Danny didn't let up. He pounded into her over and over again pushing her over the edge two more times before his body finally gave out, shooting into wife with her name on his lips. The two laid connected together until Danny had to shift so he wouldn't crush his wife under him. He felt Linda shiver as he moved off her. Danny pulled the blanket up to his wife's shoulders, wrapping his arms around her. Danny pressed a kiss to her shoulder just over her tattoo.

"God, I love you." He murmured against her skin.

"I love you more." She replied in content.

"I love you the most." Danny tightened his embrace.

Linda looked over her shoulder at her husband who was lying with his eyes closed. She turned in his arms to face him, "We should put pajamas on before one of the kids get up." She suggested not wanting to move.

"We should." Danny agreed, "Five more minutes." 

"Five minutes." Linda consented. She and Danny lay in each other's arms until they started to drift to sleep. Linda startled awake long enough to toss a pair of pajama pants to Danny and slipping on a nightgown and panties for herself before climbing back into Danny's warm, safe arms. Her head lay on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair, "It's going to be a long weekend without you." Linda commented.

"I know." Danny nodded his head. With everything that had happened to his family, he didn't like being away from them for too long.

"Sam would really like to go with you." Linda told Danny. She'd seen the disappointment on Sam's face earlier while they were eating.

"He's just so..." Danny searched for the right word, "He little. He's ten but he's also really little sometimes." 

"But if it's just you, Jack, Sean, Jamie and Frank, you could take Sam. He wouldn't be around the little kids, he'd have some good Daddy bonding time." Linda explained, "Besides, he loves spending time with you. And this would be nice to take him on something special just for him. You don't do a lot with just Sam."

"I do a lot with just him." Danny objected.

"Like what?" Linda looked Danny in the eyes.

"He works out with me." Danny said.

"So do the girls." Linda replied.

"Uh..." Danny tried to think of something he did with just Sam. His mind was drawing blanks.

"Exactly." Linda smirked, "I know this is supposed to be a thirteen and up trip but maybe you can make an exception. Especially since this is a trip you guys are taking as preparation for your father's last trip." Linda yawned.

"I'll think about it." Danny carded his fingers through her hair again, "I'll sit down and think about taking him. I just don't want him to not like it and have a bad time."

"He will tell you." Linda said.

"But he doesn't always say something when he should." Danny reminded her, "But I'll think about it. I promise." Danny kissed the top of her head. The two laid in companionable silence until Linda was softly snoring on her husband's chest with Danny soon behind her, keeping her safe in his arms while they slept through the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live in my own Blue Bloods world. It's SO much nicer here. LOL. :) Linda and Danny will never die(at least not until the end of the entire series in which they will die peacefully in their sleep together but not after being older than Henry and seeing great-grandchildren grow up and their lives being complete) There's a spoiler for Season 8 in here because I just couldn't let it go.

That night Danny startled awake. His arm gripped his wife's waist tighter jerking her towards him. His eyes shot open, "Linda." He gasped.

The movement of Danny's arm waking Linda, "Danny?" She mumbled.

Danny frowned feeling tears in his eyes, "It's okay." He said trying to breathe normally.

"What's wrong?" Linda looked over her shoulder at her husband who was spooned up behind her.

"Just a bad dream." Danny dropped his lips to her shoulder, "It's okay. It was just a dream." His voice shook as he spoke.

Linda turned in her husband's embrace, "Want to talk about it?"

Danny closed his eyes, "You died." Danny pulled her close, "You were gone because you switched a shift for me." Linda softly ran her fingers up and down Danny's arm as he spoke, "It was..." Danny tried to recall the details, "It was a helicopter crash. You were in a medivac with a patient and the chopper went down and you died." Danny kissed the top of her head, "You're not even a flight nurse. You've never been a flight nurse." Danny shook his head, "But it was real and I lost you and I couldn't live without you."

Linda looked up at her husband, "You won't have to." Linda kissed her husband's lips sweetly, "I'm right here." Linda swung a leg over Danny's waist, "You won't lose me." Linda straddled her husband, sitting on top of him.

"You don't know that." Danny shook his head.

Linda leaned over her husband, "I know that I won't get into a helicopter because that would be absurd for me to do that since I'm not trained for that." Linda kissed her husband deeply. Danny's arms wrapped around her waist, slipping under her shirt. Danny ran his hands up Linda's back and sides. She pulled her shirt over her head before yanking her husband's shirt off. Linda kissed her way down Danny's neck to his chest pausing above his heart to press a soft kiss. She followed the ridges and scars on her husband's body. Her lips and tongue gently tracing his hard muscles as her fingers pressed into his skin. Danny murmured Linda's name as she made her way down his body. Linda moved further down Danny's body stopping at where her name was embedded in his skin. Linda traced over the tattoo, sealing her silent promise of love and devotion with a kiss. Linda pushed the waistband of Danny's pajama pants and boxers down. Her mouth sinking down on her husband. She felt Danny thread his fingers through her hair as she bobbed up and down. Her tongue swirling around him. She hollowed her cheeks as she moved from tip to shaft, feeling Danny hit the back of her throat. Danny felt his body tingle. Every nerve buzzing on high. Danny's eyes rolled back as he lost himself. He peaked with Linda's name on his lips. Linda was sure to swallow every drop of her husband before slowly pulling off him. Her lips crawled back up his body making sure she kissed every inch of him. Linda laid on top of Danny. Feeling his heartbeat beneath her skin. She rested her head on his shoulder, pressing her lips to his neck.

"I love you, Linda." Danny whispered. He ran his fingertips up and down her spine, pressing the pads of his fingers against the scars on her back. He frowned as memories of how the scars appeared flashed in his mind.

"Hey." Linda put a hand to his cheek, "I'm right here."

Danny nodded his head, "Yes. Yes, you are." His hand dipped under the waistband of her pants squeezing her ass. He moved to the front of her pants only for Linda to swat his hands away. Danny froze in his actions.

"I'm okay." She cuddled Danny tight.

"But..." Danny wondered what she was thinking.

"I just wanted you." Linda explained, "I just needed you to feel me. Still very much here. Devoted to you. Loving you. I just needed to break through your nightmares because I want you to be able to close your eyes and sleep peacefully knowing that when you wake up I'll be right here." Linda said softly. She leaned over the bed to retrieve Danny's shirt while he adjusted his pants. Linda slipped her huabadn's shirt over her head. The calming scent of her husband surrounding her, "I love you, Danny Reagan." Linda sighed in content.

"I love you more." Danny kissed his wife sweetly.

"I love you the most." Linda smiled against Danny's lips. Linda fell asleep first using Danny as her personal blanket and pillow. He held her through the night, her presance surrounding him the only thing keeping the nightmares at bay.

* * *

The following morning Linda was up long before Danny. She knew he could sleep in a little in the morning. She got herself dressed and the kids up for school. Sam was quieter than usual. She wondered what was going on with him. She'd tried to ask only for Sam to say he was okay and ask for oatmeal for breakfast. Linda was sitting at the kitchen island drinking her coffee while cutting up fruit for Spense to have with breakfast when Danny appeared in the kitchen.

"Morning." He greeted his wife and children. Danny slid an arm around Linda's shoulders from behind, "Hey you." He said softly, kissing her cheek sweetly.

"Morning." Linda smiled, "Coffee is ready when you are and there's breakfast on the stove."

"You're amazing." Danny complimented his wife.

"I try." She teased.

"Mom I'm done. Can I play on my Ipad for a bit before work?" Grace asked.

"Me too!" Faith bounced up and down.

"Okay. But after you brush your teeth!" Linda yelled as the two girls ran out of the room, "How about you, Sam? Do you want some screen time before school?"

"No." Sam shook his head, "I wan' play Daddy."

"Sorry Rookie. Daddy has to go to work after breakfast." Danny said apologetically.

Linda saw Sam's face fall. She elbowed Danny gently, "Did you think about what we talked about?"

Danny looked from his son to his wife and back at Sam again, "You know what I was thinking?" Danny said to Sam, "This weekend Grandpa, Uncle Jamie, Jack, and Sean are going camping. Do you want to come with us?" Danny asked his young son.

"Really?!" Sam's eyes went wide with excitement.

"Really." Danny smiled, "It will be fun."

"T'ank you, Daddy! T'ank you!!" Sam threw his arms around his father's neck, "I big boy!" 

"Yes, you are." Danny hugged Sam tight knowing it was the best decision he could have made. He knew Linda was right. Deciding to take Sam with him would do wonders for Sam in so many ways. Danny hoped everything would work out for the best. He'd hate to take Sam on a special trip if Sam decided he would hate it after only a few hours. But with his Uncle, Grandfather, and two brothers, Along with Danny being beside him, Danny was sure Sam would have a great time. He had no idea what danger he was placing his small son in by taking him on a Reagan boys camping trip.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one today. I'll update again tomorrow after work. Hope you all enjoy it. :)

Thursday had finally come with Sam hardly being able to contain his excitement. Not only was he being allowed on the camping trip he was also allowed to take two days off school to go. All the kids were mad that they didn't get two days off too.

"I ready!" Sam announced as he bounded down the stairs. His backpack stuffed full of anything he could think he'd possibly need. He'd filled it with anything from toys to snacks to clean underwear.

Danny and Linda were in the kitchen with Frank filling a cooler while they waited for Jack and Sean. Lucy's car was in the shop again so Jack offered to pick Sean up in Staten Island so Lucy wouldn't be stuck without a car.

"Oh, and you need the first aid kit." Linda said. She bustled around the kitchen checking things off on the list in her head. She'd packed Sam's bag, his and Danny's sleeping bags were set, Sam's stuffed Chase the Police Dog was tied with his sleeping bag, flashlights, extra batteries, the tent was in the car, the car was full of gas, they filled the cooler. Linda hadn't realized she'd been pacing in a circle quietly talking out loud to herself until she happened to see Danny and Frank staring at her.

"What?" Linda asked.

"Don't worry Danny. I hear it's only a problem if she starts to answer herself." Frank teased his daughter-in-law.

"What are you talking about?" Linda asked him.

"I love you." Danny took his wife's hand in his, "Honey. I think we are all set. The only little one that hasn't camped before is Sam. And he's going to be fine."  Danny knew Linda was nervous about Sam going. After all, he was still a baby in her eyes. Just turned ten years old. He was so little.

"I just want to check his backpack one more time." Linda pulled out of Danny's grasp.

"Mommy!" Sam ran into the kitchen, "I'm packed!"

"What did you pack?" Danny smiled.

"Lots o' stuff!" Sam set his bag on the floor, "I gots my car, my fwashwight, my underwears, an' a hat, an' my Ipad, an' thnack." Sam pulled out a small bag of potato chips.

Danny snickered, "Rookie, we have all that packed u for you already. And Mommy even put Chase in with your sleeping bag. You don't need to bring all that. Maybe a few small toys for in the car but you can't bring them to camp with."

Sam sighed, "Oh fine." He huffed.

"Go put that away. Your brothers will be here soon." Danny told his son.

"Okay." Sam skipped out of the kitchen, "Can I taked my gun!?" Sam yelled from the stairs.

"Yes!" Frank answered before Danny could. Danny looked over at his father. A silent question across his face, "What?" Frank shrugged, "Everyone else is bringing one." Linda tried to hold in her giggle but Frank was right. If everyone else got to bring a gun, Sam could bring his toy gun he carried around the house in Daddy's old holster he gave to Sam when he bought himself a new one. Linda had shortened the strap to fit Sam's waist so it worked for his toy gun. He was even able to stuff his flashlight in the holster to keep his light and gun together.

Ten minutes later Jamie arrived with Jack and Sean only a few minutes behind him. Linda tied Sam's shoes, double knotting them, "Now you be good. And you stick with a grown-up. You listen to Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Jamie, Jack, and Sean and do what they say." Linda clipped Sam's medical dog tag around his neck. When she'd first told Danny she thought it was a good idea he scoffed at 'labeling' their son. However, the more Linda talked about it the more Danny understood the need for it. If something happened to whatever grown-up was out with Sam, they weren't so sure Sam would be able to state his name and important information correctly. So, Linda and Danny looked at their options. Finally settling on a metal dog tag with a red cross symbol on the front. On the back was his diagnosis of ADHD, Dysarthria, and a Neurodevelopmental disorder. Underneath were contact names and numbers for Linda and Danny as well as Danny's shield number, then the symbol for the NYPD Police Commissioner. Once any rescue personal noticed the symbol and saw the name Reagan, they'd know he was _that_ Reagan. Linda made sure to tuck the dog tag under Sam's shirt, "It's going to be lots of fun." She smiled.

"I be good." Sam grinned, "Thuper good." 

"Okay." Linda nodded her head.

"C'mon Linda. We want to get there before dark." Danny gently pushed his wife. Linda stood from her spot beside Sam at the bottom of the stairs. She hugged and kissed each of her boys, then Frank, then Jamie, before moving to her husband, "We'll be home Sunday." Danny smiled.

"You keep our boys safe." She said the same words to him as she did every time he left to camp with the boys.

"Always." Danny kissed his wife, "Love you." 

"Love you more." Linda hugged him.

"Love you the most." Danny whispered in her ear. He kissed her sweetly one last time before taking Sam's hand, "C'mon Rookie."

"Bye Mom." Jack waived.

"Bye Mom, see you Sunday!" Sean raced out the door behind Jack.

"Have a good weekend Linda." Jamie smiled.

"Now don't you worry about Sam. I'll take care of him." Frank promised.

"Bye Mommy!" Sam ran out of the house following his Grandfather.

"I love you." Danny said as he shut the front door behind him. Little did he know that those would be the words he would think over and over again as he saw his life closing in. Those would be the words he would think about while he felt like dying. Those would be the last words he said to his wife. The words she'd repeat in her own mind as she struggled to keep herself from sinking deep down into the darkness after hearing about the events from the upcoming weekend.


	8. Chapter 8

The ride to the campground was long but Danny was proud of Sam for acting so well in the car. He quietly played with a few toys and slept off and on in the car. When Sam got antsy they stopped to let him run around a bit and switch cars from his father's car with Grandpa and Uncle Jamie to his brother's car where he, Jack and Sean turned the music up loud and had a 'car party'. Jack parked his car next to his fathers.

"We're here Sammie." Jack smiled at his little brother.

"Yes!" Sam pumped his fist in the air. He waited until Jack turned the car off before unbuckling his seatbelt. Sam hopped out of the car following Sean around to the back where Jack opened the trunk.

"Here Sam. You carry your backpack." Danny handed him his small blue backpack.

"Daddy, are we goona fithing? What about hiking? Are we gonna roatht marthmallowths tonight?" Sam bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

"First, we are going to check in at the Ranger station." Danny smiled.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because that way the Ranger knows who is on the campground and if there is an emergency they know how to find everyone." Frank explained to Sam.

"Okay." Sam grinned.

"C'mon Rookie." Danny slung his own backpack on his shoulders before shutting the trunk of his car. Once he was sure they had everything and the cars were locked, the Reagan family headed to the Ranger station at the end of the gravel parking lot. 

Jack was the first one in the door, "Hello?" Jack called out to the empty station. It was fairly early in the season but someone should be manning the desk.

Frank walked in behind Jack, "Where is everyone?" He wondered.

"Be right there!" A voice yelled from the back office. The Reagan's filed into the building. Sam immediately went over to the large fish tank to look at all the pretty colored fish swimming around, "Sorry for the wait." A tall, muscular, broad-shouldered man walked out of the back room wearing a Park Ranger uniform, "What can I help you with?"

"We want to check in." Frank took charge of the awkward situation. The Ranger didn't seem to recognize him as the PC. Though his head was down and looking at the paper in his hands since he walked out of the room.

"Yes, Sir. If I can just see some ID I can log you all in." The Ranger said without looking up. Frank reached into his pocket pulling out his sheild. The rest of the Reagan family pulled their ID's out as well. The Ranger looked up to take Frank's from him, as he was closest, "Oh. Commisioner. Sir. I'm sorry Sir. I didn't realize." The man said apologetically.

"It's alright son." Frank smiled.

"Yes, Sir." The man looked around the room, "You're all Reagan's?" He asked.

"My sons and grandsons." Frank nodded his head.

"Alright." The Ranger quickly pulled up all the Reagan men in the computer, "Who's the little one?" He gestured to Sam who was still looking at the fish.

"My son. Sam Reagan." Danny spoke up.

"Got it." The Ranger typed Sam's name under Danny's in the computer, "Are you camping on site or off?" He asked referring to the campgrounds they had for rent within walking distance of the Ranger Station. The other option was to follow the trail into the woods and hike to a camping spot of your own choosing.

"Off-site," Frank replied.

"Okay. That's all I need. It's early in the season so it looks like you'll have your pick of campsites." The Ranger smiled, "Do you need a map?" He asked.

"No. We're okay." Danny tapped Sam's shoulder, "C'mon Sam." 

"Okay, Daddy." Sam smiled wide.

"Thanks." Frank said to the Ranger before the Reagan crew left the buidling to start their hike halfway up the small mountain to their regular campsite they visited every year.

* * *

Hours later they were finally ready to set up camp for the night. The hike went better than Danny expected with Sam. Sam practically ran up the mountain chasing after Sean and Jack who took the lead letting Frank, Danny and Jamie lag behind.

Sam helped set up the tent with his father while Jamie and Frank set up their own and Jack and Sean set up the one they'd share. Sam gathered small twigs for the campfire with his Uncle Jamie. He was so excited to be a helper and be able to do things like his big brothers. After dinner, Sam got his wish of roasting marshmallows on the fire. With the moon high in the sky, Danny took the opportunity to spend some quiet time with his young son. He walked down to the small creek with Sam who wanted to take a short walk.

"How many thars are in the th-ky?" Sam asked his father.

"A lot." Danny replied with a smile.

"Huh." Sam sighed.

Danny watched his son stare into the sky as if he was thinking hard about something, "Are you having lots of fun camping with your brothers, Uncle Jamie, and Grandpa?" Danny asked.

"Jutht wif you." Sam stated.

Danny wondered what Sam meant, "Why just with me?" 

"You're the betht-ith." Sam frowned. He knew he said the word wrong, "Betht..bethst-ith."

"Best?" Danny tried to help his son along.

"Yeah." Sam nodded his head.

Danny smiled, "You're the best Rookie I've had camping with me." Danny hugged his son tight.

"I like to do things wif you, Daddy." Sam said, "You do a lots and lots wif Grace and Faith. And S'ence 'cause he's a baby."

Danny hugged Sam, "I do things with you too."

Sam shrugged his shoulders, "I like camping."

"Me too." Danny said. He hadn't realized Sam felt that way. That he felt like Danny did a lot with his siblings. Maybe Linda was right in more ways than she thought. Maybe this would be a great trip for both Danny and Sam to spend some quality time together. The two walked back to the campsite together, with Danny teaching Sam about the stars as they walked.

It was only a short while later when Sam started to fall asleep sitting on the ground next to his Grandfather while the grown-ups talked. Sean soon started to yawn followed by Jamie. Frank put out the fire and sent everyone to bed. They had an early morning fishing trip planned, so everyone needed to get some rest. Danny climbed into his sleeping bag on the opposite side of the tent. The air was still and quiet. Only broken when Danny heard a whimper come from the other side of the tent.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Danny sat up.

Sam sniffled, "I don' like camping."

"Why not?" Danny asked knowing sometimes Sam wasn't able to say what he meant. He sounded genuine when he said he loved camping but now he said he didn't like to camp. Danny wondered why his emotions flipped.

"I'm thared." Sam curled into a ball, "It dark an' thary." 

"C'mere." Danny reached over and grabbed the sleeping bag. He pulled it, along with Sam closer to him, "Here. Sleep next to me. It's okay to be scared. Nothing is going to happen to you. Uncle Jamie and Grandpa are next to us. Jack and Sean are on the other side of us. And I'm right here." Danny threw his arm over his son holding him closer. Sam nodded his head, "Better?" He asked.

"Better. Sam nodded his head.

"Okay. Now let's get some sleep." Danny smiled.

"Okay, Daddy." Sam rubbed his eyes with his fists. Danny waited until Sam was asleep before closing his eyes as well. He had no clue that tomorrow one of them would be fighting for their life.


	9. Chapter 9

When Danny Reagan woke up the following morning he felt something was wrong. His gut told him to open his eyes and jump out of the tent. When he looked around he noticed Sam was missing.

"Sam?" Danny called out. He quickly got out of the sleeping bag, threw on his boots and stepped out of the tent. Sitting in the middle of the three tents was Jack, and Jamie, "You two seen Sam?" Danny asked starting to panic.

Jamie shook his head, "I haven't seen him this morning." 

"Me either." Jack stood up.

"He's gone." Danny gasped.

"Sam!" Jamie stepped towards the area he and Sam had gathered sticks for the fire last night.

"Where could he have gone?" Danny looked around the woods.

"Sam!" Jack called out.

"What's going on?" Frank stepped out of his tent.

"Sam's missing." Danny said, "We have to find him."

"Dad!" Sean yelled from the path to the creek, "Dad!" Sean ran through the clearing, "You have to come see this! I think something happened to Sam!"

The Reagan men ran after Sean following him closely. The sight before Danny's eyes made his heart stop. There on the ground covered in dirt and leaves lay Sam's stuffed dog, one of his boots, and a few drops of blood next to a large tree trunk.

"Oh my God." Frank whispered.

Danny took a step forward, "Sam." He gasped, "No. This...no." Danny shook his head.

"We'll find him." Frank put a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"We need to call the Ranger." Jamie said.

"C'mon. I used the portable charger last night for my phone." Jack said to Sean.

"I'll check the area around the campsite for any sign of him or anyone near us last night." Sean nodded his head. The two boys ran back up to the campsite hoping this wasn't as horrific as it seemed.

"He's hurt." Danny felt his eyes sting with tears.

"We'll find him." Frank repeated.

"We have to." Danny said, "We have to find my son." Danny started to pick up the stuffed dog and Sam's missing shoe when Jamie stopped him.

"Wait. Let the Ranger's see it before we touch it. Danny, it's a....it's a crime scene." Jamie said softly. He knew Dany wasn't thinking like a cop at the moment. At the moment he was a terrified father.

"Let's follow this down to the creek. See if we can find anything else." Frank suggested, "Got your gun on you?" 

Danny shook his head, "No." 

"Let get that first." Frank pulled his son to his feet.

"I'll stay here and see what I can find." Jamie offered, "It's going to be okay Danny. We'll find Sam."

Danny followed his father back to the campsite to gather much-needed supplies to hike into the woods looking for any sign of his young son.

* * *

Sam had woken up first that morning. His first thought was that he needed to pee. Sam wiggled out of the sleeping bag. That's when he remembered, Daddy said they had to go down to the creek in the morning to wash up. Sam remembered the way they walked at night and how Daddy had shown him how to follow the path. He changed out of his pajamas, put on his boots, grabbed his stuffed dog and made his way to the creek while his family slept. The sun was barely up and Sam didn't want to wake anyone. He quietly left camp hoping his Daddy would be proud of him for washing up all on his own like a real big boy. He found his way down to the creek and washed his face and hands. Sam watched as the sky brightened and the sun rose high. When he was ready he turned around to go back to camp. He wondered if his family would be awake yet. His stomach grumbled with hunger as he walked through the woods. Sam walked carefully following the same path backward when he heard a noise behind him. Sam froze. He thought it was an animal at first but a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Sam." They said in a friendly tone.

Sam turned around, "Hi." He waived to the Ranger from the Station when they checked in. Sam knew him. He gave Sam a Park sticker when they left the station. And he was a police officer. He was a safe person to Sam.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" The Ranger stepped close to Sam.

"I wathed up like a big boy!" Sam smiled wide.

"Where's everyone else?" The Ranger put a hand on Sam's back.

"They's thweeping." Sam looked up at the Ranger. If anyone saw the Ranger standing this close to Sam they'd have pulled Sam away. But blissfully unaware of the danger he was in, Sam smiled at the man. Sam's stomach rumbled again.

"Are you hungry?" He asked Sam with an evil grin.

"Yeah." Sam nodded his head, "Daddy thaid we haf to uthe the camp fire to cook bweakfatht." 

"Oh. How about I get you a little snack. That way your Daddy can stay sleeping." The man gently pushed Sam away from his route back to the campsite.

Sam pulled away. He knew he shouldn't go anywhere with a stranger. Even if they were a safe stranger without Daddy or Mommy telling him it's okay, "No." Sam shook his head, "I want Daddy."

"C'mon. I'll get you anything you want for breakfast. What's your favorite food?" The man asked.

"I want Daddy. I not go wif thranger." Sam stated. He turned to walk away from the Ranger when he tripped over the Rangers foot. He purposely stuck it out to make Sam fall. Sam his head on the tree trunk. Blood rushed to the gash on his face, "Ow!" Sam started to cry.

"Let's get you cleaned up." The Ranger tried to lift Sam to his feet only to have Sam push away.

"DADDY!" Sam yelled at the top of his lungs.

The Ranger reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth. He covered Sam's mouth and nose. The Ranger grabbed Sam, pinning his arms to his sides as Sam kicked trying to get away from the Ranger. Sam fought until his body gave into the sedative on the cloth. He went limp in the Rangers arms. His dog falling to the ground. The Ranger started to pick up the forgotten dog when he heard a noise in the distance. Deciding not to take his chance he grabbed Sam and ran back the way he came. He barely made it through some brush for cover when he heard Sean Reagan call out for his little brother after stumbling upon the stuffed toy and blooded tree trunk.

Sam had woken up a short while later with a bandage on his cheek. He was lying on the floor of a small dark closet. A piece of dry toast and a water bottle sat next to a battery operated flashlight. Sam hungrily at the toast and drank the water. He didn't know what he did wrong but he knew he was in trouble. He hoped his Daddy would come get him soon. He didn't like this dark place. He wanted to get out. He tried the handle to the door only to find it locked from the outside. Sam held the flashlight in his hands as he sat in the closet and cried.


	10. Chapter 10

It took almost an hour for the Ranger to get to the Reagan campsite. By that time the Reagan men had split to search for Jack. Sean, Jack, and Jamie had gone in three different directions leaving Frank and Danny waiting for the Ranger.

"I got here as fast as I could." The Ranger hopped off  his ATV, "What seems to have happened?"

"Thank you for coming..." Frank tried to remember his name.

"Rick Walden." The man stuck his hand out to Frank.

"My son. Sam. He's only ten. He's gone. We tracked him down towards the water. There is some blood and his stuffed dog. He's also missing a boot. He's about four foot, three inches, and fifty-five pounds." Danny reported, "Here's a picture of him." He pulled out his phone showing the Ranger a picture of Sam standing between Jack and Sean. He'd taken it when they stepped out of the car when they parked for their trip. Sam was so excited to be with the adults.

"What was he wearing the last time you saw him?" Rick asked Danny.

"Oh God." Danny shook his head, "I don't know. He had to have changed his clothes. I woke up and he was gone. He was in his pajamas last night but they were on top of his backpack this morning. Oh, God. I don't know what he was wearing." Danny hated that he couldn't be more helpful. He knew how critical the first few hours were to a missing child case.

"That's fine. We'll use the picture you've got here." He said, "Commissioner, I've put out the word that your grandson is missing. Any officers available will be headed this way to help in the search for him." Rick lied. He'd done no such thing. He'd falsified the paperwork in case the Reagan's wanted to see it. He wanted them to think he was helping them when really he was the reason Sam went missing.

"Thank you." Frank said.

"One of you should stay close to camp in case he finds his way back." Rick suggested, "I can take the other with me to search up higher on the mountain." 

"I'll stay here. You go. Find Sam." Frank patted Danny's shoulder, "Do you want me to call Linda?"

Danny shook his head, "Let's hope we find Sam soon. I'll call her but I want to call her with more information." 

Frank cleared his throat, "Danny."

"I know. I'll call her. Let me just go search for Sam. And if we find him I'll call her and if not, I'll call her. I just don't want to call her and have her worry about something I'm not sure is actually happening. I just need some time to look." Danny tried to explain. He was trying to hold off in the hopes that Sam just slipped and fell and wandered off alone. Danny knew that was unlikely. He knew it was more likely that someone took Sam. But his brain couldn't process that right now. He knew it wasn't an aminal or there would have been torn clothes and more blood. Sam was taken and when Danny Reagan found the son of a bitch that dared take his young son they were going to pay dearly for daring to take Sam Reagan.

* * *

Hours later Danny returned to camp. He'd found nothing. He and Rick had split from one another to cover more ground.

"Anything?!" Danny ran to his father and Jamie where were preparing to start a fire.

"Nothing." Jamie shook his head, "We need more people to cover more ground."

Jack walked back to the campground a few moments later, "I can't find him."

"Where's Sean?" Danny asked.

The Reagan's looked around, "He was tracked down by the water. I just talked to him about a half hour ago. He said he was on his way back." Jack said, "I'll call him and see what his ETA is." Jack called his younger brother's cell phone only to hear it go to voicemail. Jack tried to call him two more times, "He's not picking up."

"Which way was he coming from?!" Danny asked.

"This way!" Jack ran into the woods followed by his family.

"Sean!" Frank yelled.

"Sean! Where are you!?" Danny started to panic. He couldn't lose two sons. 

"Shh! Listen!" Jamie stopped everyone. Off in the distance, they could hear Sean's cell phone ringing, "Over here!" Jamie took off running in the direction of the noise.

Sean's cell phone lay on the wet grass near the water. Next to is was his gun and a syringe, "Someone took him." Frank stated.

"This can't be happening." Danny shook his head, "I need to call Linda."

* * *

Linda Reagan was at home enjoying her daughter-in-law and grandchildren visiting. She doted on her grandchildren as they ran around the house on a sugar high thanks to Linda's homebaked chocolate chip cookies.

"I wonder how the trip is going." Kathleen said to her mother-in-law.

"I bet they are having a lot of fun. Jack and Sean loved going on the camping trip every year after they turned thirteen." Linda sipped her glass of wine.

"Jack talks a lot about doing stuff like that with his dad." Kathleen smiled, "He was sad to think that it is probably going, to be Frank's last trip."

Linda nodded her head, "That's why I pushed Sam to go. I wanted him to enjoy the time with his father and be a part of a family tradition." 

Kathleen smiled, "He must be loving it."

"Probably. He loves spending time with his Daddy." Linda said. She turned her head as her phone started to buzz, "Huh. That's Danny. I wonder why he's calling."

"Maybe Sam wanted to say hi?" Kathleen shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe." Linda muttered before answering her phone, "Hey Babe." She smiled.

"Linda." Danny sighed.

That's all it took. Her name. The sigh. The tone of his voice. Linda knew something was wrong, "What happened?"

"I need you to know that this is being handled. We have a team on it. It's going to be okay Linda. I promise." Danny said.

"Danny, what happened? Is someone hurt?" Linda asked. Kathleen hadn't meant to eavesdrop. But when Linda asked if someone was hurt she couldn't help but turn her head.

"This morning, I woke up and Sam was gone. He'd gone down to the creek and he's gone. We don't know where he is." Danny said, "We've been looking for him but we can't find him. We reported it and are getting help to cover the area more thoroughly."

"He was near the water?!" Linda gasped. Her first thought was that Sam didn't know how to swim well. He could do it in a pool but he wasn't a strong swimmer.

"He's not in the water. I know he's not in the water. I think someone took him." Danny said.

"Are you sure?" Linda asked trying to stay calm.

"I'm sure. More so now than I was earlier." Danny prepared to tell her about Sean.

"Why?" Linda closed her eyes tight as she felt tears slide down her cheeks.

"Sean's missing. We found his gun and his phone but we can't find him." Danny told her, "We're getting Park Rangers and any available officers to search for them."

"Sean and Sam are gone. Just gone?" Linda covered her mouth with one hand as she started to cry.

"It's going to be okay Linda." Danny tried to stay strong for his wife, "I'm going to find them and bring our boys home."

"I'm coming." Linda said.

"No." Danny said, "Stay home with the other kids and Lucy. Because she's going to need someone with her." 

"But our boys...." Linda cried.

"I know. And I"m going to bring them home to you. I promise." Danny swore, "It's going to be okay Linda. It's going to be okay." He tried his best to console his wife who was starting to lose her self-control.

"Who would do such a thing? Who knows you're even there? Sam's only ten." Linda shook her head.

"I know. We're going to find him. He's tough. He's going to be fine." Danny said softly, "Babe, I have to go. The Ranger is pulling up. I have to go talk to him."

"Find our boys." She said softly.

"I will. I swear to you Linda. I'll find them." Danny said as he ended the phone call praying he'd be able to keep his promise.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

Two hours later there was still no sign of Sean or Sam. Danny, Frank, Jack, and Jamie were canvassing the woods but turned up nothing. 

"Shouldn't we have more people here by now?!" Danny grumbled as he and Frank walked one way with Rick and Jack going the other direction.

"It's been a while. They should be here by now." Frank agreed, "I'm going to call Garrett." He pulled out his cell phone.

"This is taking too long. Sam's only ten." Danny shook his head, "There has to be something." He said as they walked trying to find any sign of Sean or Sam.

"I can't get through. The signal is spotty." Frank shook his head.

"We have to find them." Danny said.

"Why don't we head back to the station? We can radio for help from there." Frank suggested.

"We can't do that." Danny shook his head, "That's too far to go back. We need to find Sam and Sean. Someone took my boys." Danny walked through a small row of bushes. What he saw before him, instantly made him draw his weapon, "Dad!"

"What is it?!" Frank ran up behind Danny with his weapon gripped in his hands, "I think we're getting close." Frank gestured to the decaying body on the ground.

"Oh my God." Danny gasped, "We have to find Sean and Sam."

"We need to get back to Jack and Jamie." Frank said. Off in the distance in the direction of Jack and Jamie, they heard a loud bang reverberate around the woods.

"Jack!" Danny ran in the direction of the gunshot, "Jamie!" He and Frank ran through woods. Dodging trees and large rocks. When they got close Danny felt as if he was going to be sick. Jack's gun and cell phone lay next to a small pool of blood, "JACK!"

"Where's Jamie?!" Frank shouted. He took a step forward only to see Jamie's gun, a saying and his cell phone lying on the ground.

 

* * *

Sam sat in the corner of the small dark closet. His big brother Sean had been pushed in the closet a long time ago but he hadn't woken up yet. Sam was scared. He didn't know if Sean would ever wake up. He tried to wake him but it hadn't worked. Sam flinched when the door opened and Jack was stuffed in the closet as well.

"Jack!" Sam shouted.

Jack's arm was in a makeshift sling. He turned to his little brother, "Sam!" Jamie was the next Reagan pushed in the closet. His unconscious body thrown to the floor like a pile of trash, "You won't get away with this!" Jack shouted as Rick slammed the door shut. Sam sat in the corner crying, "It's okay Sammie." Jack pulled his little brother into a hug, "It's going to be okay."

"You hurt." Sam frowned.

"It's okay. I'm okay." Jack brushed it off, "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" 

"I fall down." Sam pointed to the bandage on the side of his face.

"Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?" Jack carefully checked over his little brother for any injuries.

"No. I fall down." Sam said.

"Okay." Jack hugged Sam tight, "It's going to be okay Sam."

"I wan' Daddy." Sam curled into his big brother's lap.

"He's coming. I promise he's going to come." Jack promised. He just hoped his father would find them soon. He held his shaking, scared little brother in his arms while he prayed they'd find a way out soon.

* * *

"Something's not right." Danny shook his head. He paced back and forth, "First Sam, then Sean. Now Jack and Jamie. No one is here yet. Something is wrong.  And that body...Are we sure we trust this Ranger?"

"If I could just get my phone to get a better signal." Frank growled.

"Whoever is doing this is going to come after us next." Danny said, "We need to get help up here." 

Frank stopped in his track, "I have a signal." He said calling Garrett to find out what was taking help so long to arrive.

Danny walked behind a few trees to try and get a better look at the area. He never imagined that when he walked back around only a few minutes later his father would be gone. As with everyone else, gun and phone were left on the ground. Danny heard Garrett's voice shouting from Frank's phone.

"Frank!?" Garrett yelled, "Frank!"

Danny picked up the phone, "He's gone. Someone took him!"

"What are  you talking about Danny?!" Garrett asked.

"Someone took the Commissioner. THey took my sons. And Jamie. Someone's after us. We need help up here now!" Danny tried not to panic.

"Where are you?!" Garrett asked preparing to send everyone to help the Reagan family.

"We're on that camping trip. We checked in with the Ranger. His name is Rick Walden. Sam went missing this morning, then Sean. Then Jack and Jamie and now my dad. We need help up here. Rick was supposed to put the call out but we haven't seen or heard from anyone." Danny explained.

"Danny." Garrett felt his heart leap into his throat, "What's this Ranger look like?" 

"Mid to late thirties. White. High and tight, dark hair. Maybe six, two, and one-eighty." Danny described the man.

"Danny. There's no Ranger Rick Walden." Garrett said, "Be on your toes. I'm sending everyone to your location. I'll use the GPS signal from your father's phone." Garrett told him.

"Oh my God." Danny shook his head. This can't be happening.

"We'll find them. All of them." Garrett swore.

"I'm going to kill that bastard." Danny muttered, "Hurry. Get everyone here." 

"They're on the way." Garrett promised before ending the call with Danny. Danny put his fathers phone in his pocket, praying for his family.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note: Today is my birthday and I was able to sleep in this morning. My mom got the boys up and ready for school. I'm hoping work tonight goes well since I couldn't get it off.


	12. Chapter 12

"You won't get away with this!" Shouted Frank as Rick pulled him into the hidden cabin in the woods. Frank's hands were zip-tied behind his back, his feet tied together just lose enough to allow him to shuffle wherever Rick pulled him.

"Oh, but I already have." Rick scoffed, "No one is looking for you besides your one son. And soon I'll have him then no one will be looking for you." He tugged Frank through the threshold to the one bedroom cabin, "Now be quiet and get in there with the rest of them." He pushed Frank into the small cramped closet where Jamie and Sean still lay unconscious. Jack had checked their breathing and pulse. Both seemed to be breathing okay and their pulses were strong. Jack didn't know what to do to get them to wake up. He tried everything he could think of while trying to console a terrified Sam.

"Gan'pa!" Sam shouted. Jack immediately grabbed his little brother tighter, shielding him with his own body. Jack wasn't sure what would make Rick snap but he knew he'd die to protect Sam.

"Shut that kid up or I'll shut him up for you." Rick pointed a gun towards Sam.

"Touch my grandson again and I guarantee you'll meet your maker." Frank threatened Rick. Rick growled and shook his head. He slammed the heavy door shut, once again locking it from the outside. 

"It's okay Sammie. It's okay. I promise. Dad's coming." Jack whispered to his little brother, "I promise. You're not going to be hurt."

"You okay?" Frank asked Jack.

"Yeah." Jack nodded his head, "Sean and Uncle Jamie haven't woken up yet. I don't know what he did to knock them out. I can't get them to wake up. Sam's got a cut on his cheek here. He said he fell but he seems to be okay. He's just really scared." Jack reported. He rubbed Sam's back trying to soothe him while he curled into his big brother's lap, "What about you? And Dad?"

"Your father is out there still. He's going to find us. We'll get out of here." Frank said, "I'm fine. Get this off me." Frank gestured to the zip-ties on his wrists and ankles.

Jack shifted Sam off his lap only to have Sam grip his shirt tight, "It's okay. I'm just going to move a little to help Grandpa." Jack tried to explain but Sam wasn't having any of it.

He shook his head as he started to cry, "No Jack. No, go." 

"Sam." Frank called his name out softly, "Come here. Sit with Grandpa while Jack helps."

"C'mon." Jack helped Sam settled into his Grandfather's lap so he could quickly break through the zip-ties to free his Grandfather, "Now what?" Jack asked.

"Now we get Sean and Jamie awake." Frank said, "Alright Sam. I need you to be a big boy. Sit right here." Frank carefully put Sam in the back corner so he was out of the way. Sam curled his knees to his chest as he cried. He didn't want to be alone. He was scared and wanted his Daddy. Frank turned Jamie's head. He pressed his knuckle hard behind Jamie's ear, pressing into his skull until Jamie started shaking his head. His eyes opened quickly as he jerked away from the force of his father's knuckle.

"How did you do that?" Jack asked.

"Old trick your Grandfather taught me back in the day." Frank grinned, "Still works."

"What happened?" Jamie looked around, "Dad. It's the Ranger. He-"

"I know. So does Danny." Frank said, "Sit up, catch your breath." He instructed. Frank did the same simple move to Sean to pull him back to consciousness. Once everyone was alert again, Frank started figuring out a plan, "If we can knock through this door we can all take him."

"What about Sam?" Jamie asked as Sam had taken up space in his Uncle's lap.

"Sam stays here. He stays in the corner and takes cover until one of us comes to get him." Jack suggested.

"Or one of us can take him and run. What if there's more than just this one guy?" Sean asked.

"I think he's working alone." Frank said, "We found a body in the woods. About two miles from the campsite. I don't think our Ranger here has many friends."

"Any motive for this?" Jamie asked.

"So far, nothing. But this isn't his first time. He's too calculated. To meticulous. He knows the woods like the back of his hand. He's done this before." Frank told them.

"So Sam hides." Jamie said.

"Yeah." Frank nodded his head, "Are we ready?"

"Okay, Sam." Jamie put Sam in the far corner with the flashlight, "We're going to get the door open and take care of the bad guy. Okay? It's going to be loud and scary. So I need you to sit here and don't move. Like we're playing hide and seek. Okay. You don't move. Don't make a sound. Close your eyes and when you open them one of us will be here to get you. Stay right here." Jamie hugged Sam tight, "It's going to be okay."

"I wan' Daddy." Sam sniffled.

"I know. He's coming. I promise." Jamie kissed the top of his nephew's head, "Okay Sam. Stay here. I'll be right back." Jamie stood beside his nephews and father. Frank was studying the door trying to see if there were any traps before they kicked it down. Not finding anything he stepped aside. Jamie and Jack were going to brace themselves to kick the door down, "Ready?" Jamie asked Jack.

Jack nodded his head, "One, two, three!" He raised his foot slamming it against the door to knock it down. No one expected the door to hold firm. Two more hard kicks and still the door stood. Not budging an inch.

Sean heard a noise above their heads, "Guys!" Sean looked up. Gas started flowing into the room, pumping from vents on the ceiling. He joined in with Jack and Jamie to get the door open but their actions were in vain. The room quickly filled with gas. Each of them chocking on the thick putrid air as they dropped to the ground. Frank's last thought was of his son, praying Danny would find them all before they died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing Frank does to "wake up" Jamie and Sean has no medical basis. It's from an old war story my dad used to tell me about from his time serving in the Army. He served in the Vietnam War. And I'm pretty sure it's like a fishing tale. Mostly embellished truth. :)


	13. Chapter 13

Danny Reagan was determined to find his family. Rick wasn't going to get away with anything. Night had fallen bringing with it the cold spring air. He'd spotted the light from a cabin through the woods and was making his way there when he stumbled upon two more bodies. Danny's heart sank as he looked over the cliff. Skeletons and bodies, decaying at varying rates were piled at the foot of the cliff near an opening to a cave. Danny kept his weapon drawn with his father's in his ankle holster. He'd taken Sam's small backpack, filled it with a water bottle, first aid kids, and Jamie, Jack and Sean's guns and everyone's ID. He was almost a half-mile from the cabin when he thought he heard something. Carefully Danny tucked the small backpack into a bush hoping it wouldn't be found. He whipped around with his gun held high, "I know it's you, Rick!" Danny called out, "Come on out. No one has to get hurt." Danny took a step toward the sound, "Tell me where my family is and I'll make sure to talk to the DA." Danny tried to get Rick to fall into Danny's hands, "Come one out." Danny didn't hear Rick sneak up behind him. The noise Danny was following was a trap to get him right where Rick wanted him.

* * *

Danny Reagan woke up with the sun barely peeking over the trees. He was in the middle of a large field. As Danny sat up he looked around. There were arrows drawn in the dirt pointing in five different directions. A pair of binoculars sat on a tree stump. Danny stared at the stump. The word " **Run** " was carved into the side of the stump. Danny picked up the binoculars to look around. He was horrified to see Jamie standing at the edge of the woods. He looked the way the other arrows pointed to see Jack turned around looking through the woods as if he was trying to figure out where to go. Sean was yelling and looking around but Danny couldn't hear him or make out what he was saying. He saw Frank getting up from lying on the ground just starting to figure out he was alone. Danny's breath stopped the second he saw Sam. Little Sam was sitting on the ground crying. He looked so much younger than his age. At ten years old, Sam Reagan sat criss-cross on the ground rubbing his eyes as he sobbed in fear. Danny knew there was only one way he needed to go. He needed to get to Sam. His heart pulled him towards Jack and Sean but he knew they'd be able to hold themselves off if something was going to happen. Sam needed his father. He needed someone to keep him safe. Danny took a step in the direction of his young son. He jumped when he heard a gunshot go off. Danny took off running through the field hoping he'd make it to Sam without getting shot. The field provided no cover. There was one chance. Danny had to make it.

* * *

Linda Reagan paced back and forth. She couldn't get a hold of Danny. Garrett had sent a team of officers to watch the Reagan family until further notice. He informed Linda that Frank, Jamie, Jack, Sean, and Sam were missing. They'd lost contact with Danny shortly after he talked to Garrett. Linda shook her head. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose her family. Linda took a deep breath as she sat down next to Margaret.

"What is taking them so long?" Linda tried to keep herself from crying.

"They'll find them." Margaret said, "They have to." She held Jo in her lap while they sat at the island in the kitchen.

"Sam is so little." Linda shook her head, "I shouldn't have let him go. I shouldn't have told Danny to take him. He's so little. Oh God." Linda started to panic.

"Linda, Sam will be okay. He's with the guys. They'll keep him safe." Margaret put her hand on Linda's.

"If something happens to him I'll never forgive myself." Linda sniffled. 

"Detective!" One of the officers called for the Detective that was guarding the back door, "We found something."

"What is it?!" Linda jumped up from her chair.

"Ma'am. You should really wait to hear this." The officer said.

"No. Tell me." Linda said.

"Linda." Sid walked into the kitchen.

"Now. Tell me what's going on." Linda demanded.

"We found a body." Sid told her, "We don't have a confirmation or any ID yet. It's a small male. He was a few miles away from the campsite where the PC, and everyone was at."

"Oh my God." Linda felt bile rise up in her throat at the thought that it could be Sam. She turned towards the can as she emptied the contents of her stomach. Unable to handle the guilt, fear, and terror swirling around inside her.

"We don't know if it's Sam yet." Sid put a hand on her back.

"We don't know it's not." Linda covered her mouth with her hand as she sobbed.

* * *

In the woods ESU teams, officers from every precinct, every Park Ranger and uniform available were breaking into teams. When the first team made it to the campsite they were able to quickly identify the suspect.

"His name is Rick Walden. He's assumed the identity of a Park Ranger. It looks like he's been using this place as a cover. His prints hit back with twenty-seven outstanding warrants including homicide, assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder. He is from Georgia. He was taken into custody after a series of hunting accidents and suspicious deaths. They found Rick had a house in the woods next to a large field where he would kidnap unknown victims who were camping in the area, then hunt them. He would mount their photo ID's on a wall in his bedroom as trophies. His youngest victim was only seven years old. Out camping with his grandfather and parents when Rick took them. We found a body of a young boy over on the North ridge. We have a team canvassing that area. We're going to take the East Ridge and work our way around the mountain. Keep your eyes peeled. This is the PC's family. Everyone comes home safe." Sergeant Michaels told his ESU team. Danny Reagan was a good friend of his. Sergeant Michaels was ready to do whatever it took to get Danny's family home safe.


	14. Chapter 14

Danny's heart hammered in his chest as bullets flew by him. He had no time to look back at his father or brother. He barely glanced towards Sean and Jack. He hated the feeling of abandoning two of his children. But he knew Sam needed him. Sam was the priority. 

"SAM!" Danny screamed to get his son's attention, "SAM!"

Sam looked up, "DADDY!" He scrambled to his feet.

"STAY! NO! STAY THERE!" Danny kicked himself. He should have known better than to call for Sam. Now not only was Danny being shot at, Sam was running out of the woods towards him, "Shit." Danny muttered, "STAY THERE! DON'T MOVE!" Danny yelled. Danny pushed himself harder than he'd ever pushed before. He had to get to his son. He heard a bullet whiz by his head, nearly making contact with the side of his skull as he ran for Sam.

"DADDY!" Sam covered his ears as he heard the loud pop from the gun being fired in his direction.

"GET DOWN!" Danny yelled. He was almost there. Just ten more feet and he could scoop Sam up in his arms. Danny heard another bullet miss him by mere inches. He opened his arms wide. Sam felt the air leave his lungs as his father practically bear-hugged him. He lifted Sam off the ground and ran deep into the woods. Danny didn't stop running until he was far enough away from the field and found a large oak tree to use as cover. Tear freely flowed from the young boy's eyes as he clung to his father.

"Daddy. Daddy." Sam cried so hard he started to cough, "I thowwy, Daddy. I thowwy." 

"It's okay. Shhh. It's okay. Daddy's here. I got you. You're safe. I promise. I got you. It's okay." Danny kissed the top of Sam's head as he hugged his son tight, "I got you." He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Danny pulled away from Sam for a moment. He ran his hands up and down Sam's arms and legs looking for any wound. He frowned seeing the cut on Sam's cheek, "Do you hurt anywhere."

"I hungry." Sam sniffled.

"Okay." Danny nodded, "Anything else? Did you get hurt?"

"I fall down and I cut my face." Sam pointed his cheek.

"I see that. Okay." Danny pulled Sam back into his arms, "It's going to be okay." Danny took the binoculars he'd had in his hands while he ran to Sam, "Stay right here. I have to go look to see if I can see Sean and Jack." Danny shrugged off his jacket covering Sam with it, "You stay right here. Don't move. Got it?" Sam nodded his head. His father never spoke so harshly. Sam thought he was in trouble. He buried himself in his father's jacket with his back against the tree. Danny stepped around the tree, taking a few steps back towards the field. He gasped when he spotted Jamie. Jamie must have seen Danny running and went after him. Danny wondered if Jamie knew Danny was running after Sam. Jamie was in the middle of the field lying face down in the grass. Danny could see he was shot in the back. Danny tried to get a better look at where he was shot but he couldn't' tell from his position. He couldn't see Sean. He wasn't in the area he was when Danny took off running. Danny saw Jack's head pop out from the backside of a tree he was taking cover behind. He swore under his breath seeing Jack duck back behind the tree as a hail of bullets shot at the tree. Jack kept looking in the direction of his uncle lying on the field. Danny searched for his father. He finally found him creeping along the edge of the woods. He was going away from the field but it looked like he was trying to find a way across it towards the shooter. Danny heard a loud snap behind him along with some branches rustling. He whipped around running back to the tree where Sam was sitting. Sam looked up at his father with wide eyes. Danny stepped in front of his son. He grabbed a large thick piece of wood that had fallen from a tree branch high above them. He was ready to do whatever it took to keep Sam safe. 

"It's me! It's just me!" Sean's voice yelled loudly.

"Sean?!" Danny watched Sean make his way through the shrubs to his left.

"Dad." Sean sighed when his eyes fell upon his father and little brother.

"Oh my God. Sean." Danny dropped the log on the ground, wrapping Sean in a big hug, "Oh thank God. You alright?!" 

"I'm good. I'm good." Sean nodded his head.

"How did you get here?" Danny asked.

"I saw you running this way. I went through the woods and around. Uncle Jamie. He went after you. He was shot. I don't know..." Sean shook his head.

"I know. This bastard has Jack pinned down. Looks like your grandfather is trying to get to Rick." Danny said.

"He took my gun. How are we going to get this guy?" Sean asked.

" _We_ aren't." Danny said, "You're going to take Sam and get him out of here. Get down to the station. Call for help. There should be help on the way but I don't think they are going to get here in time."

"But Dad, what about you and Grandpa. And Jack and Uncle Jamie?" Sean asked.

"Get your little brother out of here. You get him home to your mother. That's your job." Danny said to him.

"Dad..." Sean started to protest.

"It's an order Officer." Danny practically yelled at Sean, "Now."

"Yes, Sir." Sean knew better than to continue to argue with his father.

"Sam." Danny crouched in front of his young son, "Hey Rookie. You're going to go with Sean. He's going to get you to Mommy"

"No Daddy!" Sam started to cry. He just wanted his Daddy. He was scared and wanted to go home.

"Yes. Daddy has to get Jack. And Uncle Jamie and Grandpa. I know you're scared, Rookie. I know. I'm sorry. But you have to go with Sean right now. Okay. Can you be my big, brave, boy?" Danny hugged Sam tight.

"Okay, Daddy." Sam sniffled.

"Okay. Good job. I love you. You give Mommy a really big hug when you see her okay?" Danny kissed Sam's cheek.

"Loth o' hugth." Sam said.

"That's right. Lots of hugs." Danny nodded his head, "Okay. Go on now." He watched Sean take Sam's hand, "Be careful."

"You too." Sean gently led Sam into the woods praying they'd get back to the Ranger station safely.

Danny waited until he was sure Sean and Sam were well on their way before getting close to the edge of the field, trying to stay out of eyesight of Rick. He tried to find where his father was but he couldn't see him anymore. He looked to where Jack was pinned down. The tree was being shredded with bullets. Bark was flying in every direction. Rick was even shooting near the ground knowing he was preventing Jack from moving. Danny looked over at Jamie who hadn't moved an inch. He prayed Jamie was still alive.

* * *

Sean knew he was pushing Sam hard. They were running down the mountain as fast as they could. Sam started to cry about being hungry and his belly hurting. Then about his foot that was still shoeless being cut by the twigs and rocks. Sean did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He hoisted his little brother onto his back, giving Sam a piggy-back ride as he tried to get them to safety. Sean heard voices coming towards them. He ducked behind a large boulder near the water. He set Sam on the ground covering him with his body to shield him from any danger. Sean put a finger to his lips telling Sam to be quiet as he heard the men draw closer. The voices grew louder and louder until Sean felt as if they were right on top of him. Sean didn't make a sound until he heard Sergeant Michaels' voice.

"Team two. Checkpoint four clear." He said over the walkie-talkie.

Sean poked his head out from the boulder, "Sergeant!" He kept Sam behind him as they made their way over to the ESU team.

"Sean!" Sergeant Michaels said in surprise, "Team two, checkpoint four, we have Officer Sean Reagan and Samuel Reagan. Repeat, Team two, checkpoint four. Officer Sean Reagan and Samuel Reagan."

"Am I glad to see you!" Sean said gratefully, "Jamie's been hit. Jack's pinned. I don't know where the ommissioner is and lieutenant Reagan is trying to get all of them out but he's under fire. This guy took our weapons."

"Where are they?" Sergeant Michaels asked.

"About two miles up. Go northeast." Sean pointed.

"Can you get me there?" The ESU Sergeant asked.

"Yeah. I can do that." Sean nodded his head, "But I can't take Sam back there."

"I'll take him down the mountain." Sergeant Powers from Sean's precinct stepped forward.

"Okay." Sean nodded his head. He turned to his little brother, "Sammie. Listen to me. I need you to go with my friend. You remember Sergeant Powers? He's the one that gives you the lollipops when you come by the precinct when I'm working." Sam nodded his head. Sergeant Powers always had a jar filled with small lollipops and Sam got one every time he stopped by the Twenty-Seventh precinct to visit Sean, "Okay. I need you to go with him. He's going to get you to Mommy. I promise." Sean said.

"But Daddy thaid...." Sam started to say.

"I know what Daddy said. But I have to take these guys to help Daddy. Okay? Be good. He's going to get you to Mommy. I promise." Sean hugged his little brother, "Let's go." He said to Sergeant Michaels. He didn't want to waste any time when he knew Sam would be in good hands with his Sergeant.

* * *

Jack Reagan couldn't move. Bullets flew around him close enough to be raindrops. He had tried to get deeper into the woods for cover but it was no use. Every time he shifted more bullets were fired at him. He saw his father run across the field. He prayed he was running to Sam. When he saw his uncle take off after his father, Jack had started that way as well. He ducked behind the big tree just after he saw his Uncle Jamie fall to the ground after being shot. Now he was pinned. Jack had been trying to look for his father or Grandfather. He looked for Sean and Sam but he couldn't see anyone from his spot stuck behind the tree. He tried to see any way he could get out without being shot but there was no way he could do it without exposing himself for too long. Jack knew he had to do something. He stood up keeping his back against the tree. He was going to try and run. Maybe if he could make to where his father ran they could come up with a plan together. Jack turned to double check the best path to head in his father's direction.

"DON'T MOVE!" Danny yelled.

Jack looked to his right to see his father taking cover behind another tree across from him, "Dad!? Where'd you come from?!"

"Through the woods and around." Danny said, "Doesn't matter. Don't move." 

"Do you have Sam?!" Jack asked. His first thought jumped to his little brother.

"He's with Sean on his way to the Ranger station at the bottom of the mountain. He needed to get out of here." Danny said, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hit. But Uncle Jamie..." Jack said.

"I know. We're going to get him." Danny replied.

"What about Grandpa?" Jack asked, wondering if he was okay.

"I don't know." Danny sighed. He wished he could find his father but he tried looking again only to not see him slinking along the shadows anymore, "Here's what we're going to do."

* * *

Frank Reagan was quickly and carefully making his way up to where Rick was shooting from. He quietly slipped through the trees and over the small boulders on the cliffside to come up behind Rick. Frank picked up a heavy tree branch as he crept up behind Rick. The hair on the back of his neck stood up when Rick stopped firing his weapon towards Jack. Frank swung the branch at Rick with only one thought on his mind, 'don't go down without taking this bastard with you.'

* * *

The gunfire stopped causing both Jack and Danny to hold their breath. They waited for a moment unsure of what made Rick stop firing at them.

"Now! Now!" Danny said running into the field. It didn't matter why the gunfire stopped. He just prayed it halted long enough for him and Jack to get Jamie to safety.

Jack ran with his father to his uncle, "Dad! Look!" Jack pointed to the side of the woods where ESU officers were breaking through the forest. He looked up to see a helicopter flying above them, "Yes!" Jack's fist pumped the air. He got to his Uncle a few seconds before his father did. Jack turned Jamie onto his back.

"C'mon Harvard." Danny dropped to his knees. He felt for Jamie's pulse expecting not to find one. The pool of blood he was lying in was too big for him to be alive. Danny breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a faint pulse, "We need to move him." He said to Jack, "Stay with him. I need to find your grandfather." Jack barely had time to nod his head before Danny was off running straight for Sergeant Michaels, "Officer down! Officer down!" He shouted, "PC still missing!" The field quickly started filling with officers from ESU to Park Rangers to Detectives of all grades and officers from every precinct. Every available cop was in the woods searching for the Reagan family, "Sean!? Where's Sam?!" Danny yelled towards his son.

"Sarge took him to the station to get checked out!" Sean yelled back as the helicopter landed in the field.

"The PC was last seen..." Danny started to speak but was cut off when the gunfire started again.

Sergeant Michales and his team raised their weapons to fire back, "STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN!" Sergeant Michaels yelled into his radio, "PC UP THERE! STAND DOWN!" Sergeant Michaels and his team started towards the gunfire with Danny and Sean behind him. Jack quickly caught up after a team was on Jamie getting him into the helicopter. Sergeant Michaels' team made their way up the South side where the gunfire had come from. As they got closer they saw Frank Reagan, bloodied and bruised standing over the dead body of Rick Walden, "Commissioner!" Sergeant Michaels said to get Frank's attention.

"Dad!" Danny pushed his way through, "Are you okay?!" Danny ran to him.

"I'm okay. He needs a body bag." Frank tossed the gun to the ground, "The kids?!"

"Jamie's hit. The boys are okay." Danny hugged his father.

"Sam?" Frank asked specifically for his small grandson.

"I think he's okay." Danny said.

"Let's go home." Frank started to stumble. Danny quickly caught his father with Jack holding him up on the other side.

"You okay?" Danny asked him again.

"Let's just get out of here." Frank sighed heavily. He leaned on his son and grandson as they were escorted to the field to a second helicopter waiting for them. He prayed he wouldn't lose another son. He couldn't do that. Not again. He prayed Jamie would survive his wounds. From what Danny told him about how much blood was around Jamie, Frank wasn't so sure he'd make it.


	15. Chapter 15

Linda paced back and forth with Spense in her arms. When they got the call that her family had been found Linda gathered everyone together to meet at the hospital. Margaret sat with Jo in her lap. Maddie, Will, and Gus sat huddled together watching a movie on the tablet. Emma, Ava, and Charlie sat with Lucy waiting to hear any news about Sean. Faith and Grace sat with Elijah while Kathleen nursed Josh. Linda held Spense on her hip while she walked around.  They hadn't told her how anyone was doing yet. There was no update on anyone's condition. All Linda knew was that everyone was being helicoptered to the hospital and they were all found. Linda set Spense down next to Gus to check the time again on her phone.

"It's only been five minutes since you did that last." Margaret told her, "Linda, why don't you sit?" 

"I can't. It's Sam. I just need to see him. To make sure he's alright." Linda shook her head, "I should have never told Danny to take him out there."

"Linda!" Danny's voice bellowed down the hall.

"They're here!" Linda looked down the hall. There she saw Danny holding onto a gurney. Judging by the small body it had to be Sam on it. Jack and Sean were side-by-side while Frank was wheeled down in a wheelchair. Linda saw a gurney quickly run down the opposite side of the hall towards the surgical wing. She felt her heart skip when she realized it had to be Jamie, "Oh my God!"

"Jack!" Kathleen felt tears in her eyes.

"Oh Thank God. Sean." Lucy put her hand over her mouth trying to stop herself from sobbing with relief. Last she knew her husband was missing.

"Where's Jamie?" Margaret looked around for him.

The Reagan family reunited in the hall with lots of tears and tight hugs. Danny wrapped his arms around Linda tightly as she shook in his arms. He only let her go when she moved to Sam, "Hey you." Linda hugged Sam tightly, "Mommy is so happy to see you. What happened?" Linda looked up at him.

"He has a few cuts and scrapes but nothing major. He won't need stitches or anything. He just lost a boot and he has a few cuts on his foot from being in the woods. He fell asleep on the way here. He got the gurney while we all sat in the chopper." Danny explained, "He's okay, Linda. I promise."

Linda nodded her head, "And you?" She sniffled.

"I'm okay. Everyone is alright." Danny hugged his wife and son together until he felt Grace and Faith run up to him. Spense was only a few paces behind them. Danny wrapped his arms around his family, "I love you guys."

"Oh God. Jamie." Margaret shook her head. She was holding onto Frank while he told her about Jamie's injuries. Jamie had been shot multiple times and lost a severe amount of blood. The doctors had whisked him straight to emergency surgery not wanting to waste a minute getting him stabilized.

Linda hugged her sister-in-law. She'd been on the receiving end of her husband in surgery. No words could help Margaret at the moment. She needed someone to hold her and sit with her until Jamie pulled through. He had to pull through. He couldn't leave his family. Not now. Linda closed her eyes and prayed. Jamie had to make it.

* * *

Hours later the Reagan family sat in one room. Everyone huddled together waiting to hear news of Jamie. Sam hadn't said more than a few words since being back. He barely left his mother's lap. Linda pulled herself away from the family sitting in the back of the room with just Sam. She'd gotten a blanket from one of the nurses and wrapped it around the two of them. Danny sat beside Linda. He put an arm around the back of her chair letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked her, keeping quiet when he realized Sam was asleep.

"He should have never been there." Linda sighed. Danny nodded his head in agreement, "He shouldn't have gone."

"You're right. He should have stayed home." Danny said, "You know there was a reason it was a trip for the boys when they were thirteen." Danny sighed.

"Well, it's not because you planned on stumbling upon some psycho." Linda rolled her eyes.

"No, but Sam disappeared. He went down to the water himself in the morning while everyone was sleeping." Danny explained, "Then he went missing. That started this whole thing." 

"So now this whole incident is Sam's fault?" Linda asked defensively.

"No. Linda that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying..." Danny tried to talk but got cut off.

"So it's my fault then?" Linda already felt guilty for pushing Sam to go, "If you thought he wasn't ready you could have said something."

"I did." Danny shook his head, "I said something a lot of times but you kept wanting him to go."

"Because he likes spending time with you, Danny. And you do things with him and that's great but he needs more than the other kids. He needs more than a project together here and there. He needs more attention. He's not like the other kids." Linda huffed.

"Don't you think I know that?" Danny said in a harsh whisper, "I know he's not like the other kids. I know he has issues. I know the problems he's going to have for the rest of his life. I know Linda." 

"And that's my fault too. Right? Because the twins were premature. I know that's my fault. I feel that guilt every day." Linda told him.

"I never said it was your fault. We've done this. We talked about this. It's not your fault or mine. It just happened." Danny took a deep breath. 

"But you think it. If Sam didn't have any problems and he was just like Sean or Jack he would have been better on this trip. But he's not. He's Sam and Sam is closer to Charlie's age or even Maddie's some days rather than the ten-year-old boy he really is. And I did that. And I did this." Linda closed her eyes tight as she started to get upset.

"Look, you didn't do anything to make Sam the way he is. That just happened. As far as him going on this trip, yeah, you pushed and pushed and I took him. But he wasn't ready. That's what I was trying to tell you in the first place." Danny said.

"Family of Detective Reagan?" A nurse walked into the room.

"I'm his wife." Margaret stood from her spot by the door.

"He's just starting to wake up. I think he'd like to see you." She smiled at her.

"Is he going to be okay?" Margaret asked.

"We're hopeful. He pulled through surgery with flying colors." The nurse said.

"Go." Linda told Margaret, "We've got the kids."

"Thank you." Margaret rushed off with the nurse to Jamie's room.

Linda turned back to Danny, "He shouldn't have been there." She gestured to Sam.

"And you shouldn't have pushed him to be there." Danny countered.

Linda shook her head. She knew she was a horrible mother. There was need rub it in though. Linda let Danny's words settle in her mind as she thought too hard about the situation. It didn't matter that Rick went after them for no other reason than he could. It didn't matter that Rick picked them off one by one like he'd done over the past years as a serial killer. All that mattered to Linda was that Sam was home. She'd never again push him to do anything unless she was sure he was going to be okay. Linda frowned, the guilt inside her boiling. She knew Danny was right. She shouldn't have pushed. But she did and  now look at what she caused. Jamie could die and it would be Linda's fault. Linda prayed for her broher-in-law. She didn't know how she'd ever be able to look Margaret in the eyes again if something happened to Jamie because Linda pushed Sam on a trip he should have never been on in the first place.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 5:30 am, I've had less than an hour of sleep but can't lay in bed awake anymore. I'm so wired for some reason I feel like Elf when he created Santa's workshop in the middle of the night. 90% of my night was with that damn guitar riff from "Smoke On The Water" stuck in my head.


	16. Chapter 16

That night the Reagan family quietly went home. Will and Jo stayed with Danny and Linda so Margaret could stay with Jamie at the hospital. Linda knew Danny was mad at her. He had to be. After their small argument in the hospital, they'd barely spoken. Linda stayed with Sam while Danny took care of the rest of the kids. When they got home Linda sat with Sam until he fell asleep in his bed. She stayed in his room on the floor in the dark wishing she'd never told Danny to take him. It wasn't Danny's fault. He hadn't wanted to take Sam, to begin with. This was Linda's fault and she knew it. 

Danny quietly knocked on the open bedroom door, "He okay?" He asked his wife.

Linda nodded her head, "I think so. He seemed to be alright now that he's home and in his own bed." Linda sighed, "He shouldn't have gone."

"No. He shouldn't have. He should have been home. Things would have been different if he was home." Danny crossed his arms.

"I know." Linda stood up from her spot on the floor, "I wish I kept him home."

"Yeah. Me too." Danny said cooly. He was trying to keep calm about everything. He was trying not to let it get to him. But how could he not be angry with her? If Linda didn't push for Sam to go on this trip then Sam wouldn't have disappeared prompting the search that inevitably pulled the family away from Danny and almost killed Jamie? He knew Linda wasn't Rick. Rick was the shooter and the person that kidnapped his family but he couldn't help thinking about what if Sam wasn't there. Would they still have gone through this? Jamie wouldn't be lying in a hospital fighting for his life. He wouldn't have been in that field. And he and Linda surely wouldn't have almost lost three of their children. Linda passed Danny as she walked out of the room. Tears in her eyes threatening to fall. She hadn't felt this low in a long time. The guilt was eating her from inside. 

In the bedroom, Linda pulled out one of the family albums made before Grace was born. The album full of pictures of Jack and Sean. Linda flipped through watching them grow up before her eyes. They did so much when they were young. Boy Scouts, camping trips, box car derby races, sports, all things Linda wished for all of her children to be able to do. She could see each one of her kids holding a trophy and being proud of what they did. Only when it came to Sam, Linda wasn't quite sure where he fits in. She wasn't quite sure what he'd be able to accomplish when he grew up. A thought that scared her more than she realized. Linda was so lost in her own world she didn't see Danny slip into the bedroom and back out again. He grabbed a second t-shirt and headed down to the basement fora much needed boxing session with the bag that hung downstairs. Always ready and waiting for him to work through his problems almost as faithfully as his marriage.

Two hours later Danny wasn't back upstairs. Linda pulled her robe tight around her waist as she took a bottle of Gatorade downstairs with her. She knew Danny had to be done with the one he initially brought down and if he was mad he'd be too stubborn to come back up to the kitchen for another one. She walked down the stairs, the sight of Danny expertly jabbing the punching bag never ceased to take her breath away.

"Kids okay?" Danny asked without turning around.

"Yeah. I'm just going to bed. Thought you could use this." Linda held up the plastic bottle.

Danny stopped the bag from swinging, "Thanks. I'll be down here for a while." He pulled his gloves off. Danny took the Gatorade from Linda.

"You want some company?" Linda asked.

"Nope." Danny sighed.

"You sure?" Linda stared down at her feet.

"Yup." Danny said firmly.

Linda fidgeted with her wedding rings while she stood watching Danny put his gloves back on, "Are you okay?" Linda pushed Danny to open up. He was keeping something from her. She just couldn't' figure out what it was.

"Leave it alone Linda." Danny shook his head.

"No, Danny. I'm not going to leave it alone. Because you obviously have something on your mind so why don't you just come out and say it." Linda stood her ground.

"You don't want to know what I have to say right now." Danny said knowing the words in his mind would hurt Linda if he said them. He couldn't help but think, if she didn't push him so much to take Sam, none of this would have happened. Why did she push so hard? Didn't she know Danny wanted to spend time with Sam just as much as Sam wanted to spend time with him? Didn't she see how hard Danny tried to bring Sam into the same activities he did with the other kids? Did she think he loved Sam any less because he had special needs? Did she think Danny thought less of his own son because he wasn't just like every other kid they'd had? He  _knew_ taking Sam camping was going to go wrong. He could feel it. Why was he so stupid? He let Linda push and push until she got her own way. Now, look where they were.

"Talk to me." Linda pressed him for an answer. She just wanted to talk to him. To see what was going on in his mind.

"Linda, stop!" Danny growled, "You want me to talk to you?! You want me to tell you what I'm thinking?! How could you make me take him?! What would you have done if something had really happened to him?! If he was hurt?! Because you pushed and pushed for him to come with me! How would you feel if  _I_ was the one that was lying in the hospital with four bullets in my back?! Why did you make him come?! Why did you do that to him?! Do you have  _any_ idea what could have happened to him?!" Danny snapped. Once he started shouting he couldn't stop, "You laid there in bed with me making me feel like a completely shitty father because you pushed and pushed saying I don't do anything with Sam! That I'm not a good enough father! That I do nothing with our son!"

"Danny, I  _never_ said that!" Linda protested.

"You didn't _have_ to say it! You wouldn't have pushed Sam to go if you thought otherwise!" Danny yelled at her, "You knew that by pushing I'd give in and take Sam! We both know how hard it is to find something special just for him so you pushed him on this trip! He was too little Linda! You of all people should know that! He shouldn't have been there!

Linda felt hot tears flash in her eyes. She shook her head refusing to give Danny any satisfaction of seeing her cry. She took her hurt feelings turning them into anger, "You seriously think I think you're not a good father?! Damnit Danny don't you know that out of the two of us I think worse about myself?! You had nothing to do with the twins being born early! I did! They can say it's not my fault all day long but I know it is! I know I pushed you! I know I pushed Sam! I know it's my fault! I know that Danny!" Linda clenched her eyes tight, "You have no idea how thankful I am that it's not you in that hospital bed and that it's not Sam or Sean or Jack! You have no idea how guilty I feel for sending Sam on that trip!" Linda shook her head, "You want to sit here and be mad at me for pushing Sam, then fine! But know that I'm already beating myself up over the whole thing! That I already blame myself for Jamie! And Sam! And everyone! This was on me, Danny!" Linda took a deep breath, "At least now I know you hate me as much as I hate myself for this." She spun on her heel walking back up the stairs leaving Danny in the basement alone to process their heated argument.


	17. Chapter 17

Danny sighed heavily as he watched Linda walk upstairs away from him. He pulled his gloves off quickly and ran up after her. THey could fight and argue and he was mad at her, however, he wasn't going to let her think he hated her. Nor was he going to stand by and let her hate herself.

"Linda!" Danny shut the basement door behind him as he chased his wife through the hallway. Danny caught up to her just as she was walking through the living room. Danny grabbed her elbow, "Wait!"

"Danny, I know what you think. Just leave it alone!" Linda yanked her arm away from him.

"I might be mad at you and we might have a lot to talk about but there's no way in Hell I'm going to let you just walk away like this." Danny said sternly.

"Danny." Linda shook her head. She didn't want to get upset. She'd been able to get through this fight this long. She wasn't going to start crying now.

"Just listen to me." Danny said.

"I can't do this anymore Danny. Not right now." Linda turned to walk away from him again.

"You were wrong!" Danny yelled at her.

Linda stopped in her tracks, "I know that!" She turned on her heel to face her husband, "If you're going to stand here and tell me how I was wrong to make Sam go, how I was wrong to push you and him and tell me how I was wrong about him being able to go camping then I already know that Danny. I already know I screwed up. I know. I know I'm at fault for this. I know I was wrong Danny! I don't need you to actually tell me how much I screwed up when I already hate myself for it!" Linda was slowly losing her emotional battle. Tears fell from her eyes. Linda squeezed her eyes shut tight, getting mad at herself for letting her tears spill over. She gasped when Danny grabbed her around the waist. He pushed her up against the wall, "Danny!" Danny took her by surprise. He pushed his body against Linda's effectively trapping her between him and the wall. He kept a hand on her hip stopping her from moving. Danny's other hand cupped her face. Linda opened her mouth to speak when Danny pressed his lips against hers. Danny kissed his wife with such force it took the breath from her lungs. Linda's arms encircled his neck as if they were moving on autopilot. Linda nipped at Danny's bottom lip until she felt him slip his tongue between her lips. Danny's hand slide from Linda's jaw to her neck. Danny squished Linda against the wall. He angled his head to deepen the kiss. Danny was determined to show Linda how he felt. if she wasn't going to let him get a word in, he'd have to do something to get her to stop talking so he could have a turn to speak. 

Danny pulled back just enough so he could rest his forehead against Linda's, "You were wrong when you said I hate you. I could never hate you. Ever." Danny kissed his stunned wife once again, "You're wrong." Danny said once again, "Linda, I'm mad at you. I'm frustrated. I'm a lot of things right now. But I don't hate you." Danny looked into her eyes as he spoke softly, "I love you, Linda. And I will _not_ let you think anything other than that. I love you and there is nothing in this world that could ever change that."

Linda took a deep shaky breath, "But Danny...."

"No. There is there no but anything. I love you. That's all. That's it." Danny caught a stray tear as it fell down the side of Linda's face, "We can fight and argue all we want. It's never going to stop me from loving you."

"I love you too." Linda said quietly. She clung to Danny tightly. They had so much to talk about. So many emotions were running high for both Danny and Linda. They needed a to take some time, step back and breathe before trying to talk again. Linda tried to gather her thoughts that seemed so jumbled up when she and Danny heard a loud cry from upstairs.

"MOOOOMMMMMYYY!" Sam yelped.

Danny and Linda were both instantly up the stairs and walking into Sam's room, "Hey Rookie." Danny scanned the room out of habit, "What's wrong?" He rushed to Sam's side with Linda next to him.

"Too dark." Sam sniffled. He pointed to his nightlight that must have burnt out.

"Oh, it's okay Sammie." Linda hugged her little boy tight, "It just needs to be fixed. You sit here with Daddy. I'll go fix the light." Linda kissed his cheek. She moved to get up from the side of Sam's bed when Danny stopped her.

"I got it." He said. Danny walked out of Sam's room, turning the hall light on to get a new lightbulb for the nightlight. When he got back to Sam's room Danny's heart melted. Linda was lying down next to Sam with her arm around him. Sam had already started to fall back asleep. Danny quietly changed the bulb.

"I don't know what I would have done if something happened to him." Linda whispered to Danny.

Danny walked over to Sam's bed. He put his hand on Linda's back as he sat on the edge of the bed behind her, "He's okay." 

"I know. But what if he isn't? What if he wasn't okay? What if this lasts in his head and he can't get over it?" Linda worried.

"There's a lot of what ifs but you missed one. What if this barely effects him? We just don't know those things. Not right now and I doubt we'll ever get a concrete answer one day." Danny said softly.

"This was all my fault." Linda watched Sam sleep beside her.

Danny sighed. While he felt if Linda didn't push so much, he'd have never taken Sam. He also knew that Linda didn't plan on this happening. No one did. Linda didn't anticipate Rick being a killer. No one saw it coming until it was too late. Danny knew Linda wasn't the one that shot Jamie. It wasn't her fault Jamie was trying to protect Danny and Sam, "Linda." Danny sighed not sure of what to say. He slipped his arm around Linda's waist and rested his head on her shoulder, "It's late." He whispered, "Why don't we go to bed?" He suggested. Linda nodded her head in agreement. The two of them each left Sam with one last kiss and hug before tucking him in and leaving the room.

Danny watched as Linda sat on the corner of their bed. She took her glasses off her face and rubbed her eyes. Linda sighed heavily, "I'm sorry." Linda apologized first, "I'm sorry I made you feel like a bad father. I never,  _never_ meant to insinuate that. Or anything even remotely close to that. I know you love Sam. You're a wonderful father, Danny. I couldn't imagine anyone being a better father than you. You love our children more than anything in the world and I'm so sorry I ever made you feel like I thought differently." Linda looked up at Danny. She wanted him to see just how serious she was in her apology, "I'm so sorry Danny."

Danny flipped the lock on their bedroom door as he shut it behind him, "I'm sorry I yelled. I'm mad and angry but I should never raise my voice to you." Danny said honestly. He sat beside Linda, "I know you weren't the reason this happened. You weren't the shooter. You weren't even there."

"Still my fault." Linda squeezed Danny's hand in hers.

"It's not your fault. It's not my fault. It just happened." Danny said softly. Linda dropped her chin to her chest. The two sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Neither one knowing what to say to the other. Linda fought against a big yawn, not able to succeed, "Why don't we talk more about this in the morning?" Danny asked.

"I don't want this to drag into tomorrow." Linda shook her head.

"Look, I don't really want that either. But you're tired, I'm tired. I need a quick shower. Baby, you look so tired. You should really try to sleep. I promise. No arguing. Just talking tomorrow." Danny held Linda close. Linda laid her head on Danny's shoulder. He was right in the fact that she was exhausted. It seemed the argument between the two of them had worn her out. Linda didn't actually realize how tired she was until she'd started dozing off sitting next to Danny, "C'mon." Danny said gently, "Lay down." He pulled their blanket back on Linda's side. Linda relented, allowing Danny to fiddle with the covers until he was satisfied, "Five minutes." He whispered. Danny kissed Linda sweetly before disappearing into their bathroom. Linda heard the shower kick on. She sat up in bed while she thought about Danny. She knew she was responsible for Sam being there in the first place. She knew if Sam wasn't there Jamie wouldn't have been shot. Linda sat for a few moments in bed before getting up. They weren't dragging this fight out for another day. Linda slipped into the bathroom. Danny's back was turned while Linda shed her pajamas. She stepped behind Danny in the shower.

Linda pressed a soft kiss to Danny's shoulder, "We need to finish this tonight." Linda put her hands on Danny's hips.

Danny turned around to face his wife. The sight of her standing naked and vulnerable before him never failed to make him weak in the knees. Danny pulled Linda close, "Is this supposed to keep us from yelling at each other?" Danny smirked.

"Something like that." Linda kissed him sweetly.

"I'm sorry I blamed you. I'm frustrated that you pushed me to take Sam. I'm upset that you pushed until you got what you wanted. I'm mad that I was right. He shouldn't have come." Danny explained how he still held anger towards his wife, "But ultimately it was my decision. I could have said no. I knew it's what you wanted and I don't know...I could have still said no." Danny poured a little of Linda's shower gel onto the washcloth to soap it up before gently running the cloth over Linda's body. He pressed his fingers deep into her shoulders and down her arms. He slowly moved the cloth up and down her body. Danny's hands glided down her sides, over her ass, to her legs, across her stomach, squeezing her breasts gently before resting at her neck again.

"But I pushed. And I shouldn't have done that. I pushed and didn't leave you much of a choice." Linda sighed feeling Danny's hands skim her breasts, the cloth discarded as fondled his wife's chest, "I'm so thankful you're home safe. That you came home to me." Linda tipped her head back as Danny kissed his way down her jaw to her neck, "I don't know what I'd do if you were hurt." Linda confessed, "I'm sorry Danny."

"This wasn't your fault." Danny tightened his arms around her.

"Then why do I feel like it was?" Linda asked him. She leaned against the shower wall, pulling Danny to her, letting him cover her with his body. The weight of him pressing against her offering the smallest amount of comfort for the time being.

Danny frowned. He didn't have an answer to that question. He held Linda close hoping that by some miracle the more love he showed her, the more she'd start to believe that she was only wrong for pushing Sam and leaving Danny without a way to say he wasn't taking Sam on the trip. She wasn't responsible for what happened while they were in the woods. Danny held Linda tight as the two of them stood under the hot spray of the shower desperate to heal their wounds caused by words they'd angrily thrown around. Danny drew small circles on Linda's back while he held her tight praying that he'd find a way to help her through the guilt that seemed to settle in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got out of work wicked early. We planned on being busy but it wasn't really nice weather today so we were super super dead. I'm now happily up at Kevin's(he says hi) he's working tonight and I get a nice hot bubble bath without children either wanting to join, hand me tub toys to play with or ask me every random question imaginable. And I'll get to watch last nights episode of BB without kids around to interrupt. :) He's currently in the kitchen cooking dinner before he has to leave for work. Partly because he's a better cook than I am and partly because last time I cooked we learned that smoke alarms are NOT oven timers. lol.


	18. Chapter 18

A week later and Linda still felt horrible for pushing Sam on the camping trip. Jamie was finally released from the hospital and sent home. Linda and Danny had kept Sam out of school for a few days allowing him to take his time with the slight separation anxiety that had manifested as a result of being kidnapped.  One day towards the end of her shift Linda was surprised to get a phone call from Danny telling her he'd picked up the kids, and was taking care of dinner. All she had to do was come home when she was done working.

Linda pulled into the garage wondering what Danny was up to, "I'm home!" She called out as she walked through the door.

"Mommy!" Spense ran over to Linda. His little arms grabbing one of her legs tight.

"Hi, Mom!" Grace called from her spot at the kitchen table.

"Look what I did in school today!" Faith held up an art project she'd made in class.

"Hello, beautiful." Danny pecked her on the cheek.

"Hi, Mommy!" Sam waived at her. Sam was standing on the kitchen stepstool in front of the sink with the cold water running.

"Hey, guys." Linda picked Spense up in her arms, "What are we all doing?"

"I cook!" Sam held up the strainer full of vegetables for a green salad.

"I'm helping watch Spense for Daddy." Faith smiled.

"Mom how old were you when you went on your first date?" Grace asked.

"Thirty-seven!" Danny answered before Linda could. 

Linda laughed, "Why?"

"I think this boy in class likes me." Grace smiled, "He gave me this today." She showed her mom a note the boy had taped to her locker.

"Do you want to eat lunch together tomorrow?" Linda read it out loud.

"And he put a little heart here." Grace pointed out.

"I see that." Linda nodded her head.

"You know what Grace, maybe I'll come to lunch tomorrow and eat with you." Danny checked on whatever he had in the oven.

"Mom please don't let him come!" Grace groaned.

"I think she's okay to have lunch with a boy from class." Linda said to Danny.

"And I think she needs to be locked away until she's married." Danny leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Mom!" Grace rolled her eyes at her father.

"It's lunch in the cafeteria at school. I think it's okay." Linda kissed her husband.

"That's how it starts." Danny sighed.

"Sam, you're helping Daddy, cook?" Linda ignored her husband's comment.

"I help Daddy!" Sam beamed proudly.

"And Daddy won't let us help!" Faith tattled.

Linda looked at Danny with the question written across her face, "You're not helping cook because Sam wanted to do it with just me. You do all sorts of things with just me. This is what Sam wanted to do today." Danny said sternly. Linda was sure Danny must have already said this more than once for him to reply in that tone to Faith, "I told you. I'll do something with you another time. Right now it's time for Sam to have some special Daddy time."

"Girls, why don't you take your little brother in the living room and put on a video for him. One that he likes not one that you like." Linda set Spense on the ground, "Go on with Grace and Faith." She shooed the three of them out of the kitchen. Linda made sure they were in the other room before walking back over to Danny. He was chopping vegetables while Spense took the chopped pieces Danny had moved out of the way into the salad bowl, "This looks good guys." Linda smiled.

"Sam picked out the meal." Danny smiled.

"Thalad. Fench fwies. Meatwoaf. Brolli. Canbewy thauth. An' thocowate milk." Sam smiled wide.

"Interesting choice of a meal but it works." Linda grinned, "Why are you two cooking together?" Linda asked.

"Sam said he wanted to help cook dinner with you and when I said I was going to make dinner he still wanted to help. So I figured it was something we could do together and the girls could help watch Spense." Danny explained.

Linda couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through her from her heart hearing Danny's words, "That's a great idea." Linda kissed her son's cheek, "I'll leave you two alone to cook then. I'll go watch the kids while you two cook."

"I love be a cooker!" Sam smiled wide.

Danny went back to making the salad with Sam while Linda went into the living room to spend time with the girls and Spense while they anxiously awaited their special dinner Sam helped prepare.

* * *

Later that night Danny was sitting on the couch with a beer while the girls played a game in the dining room. Linda took a seat beside her husband, "Dinner was good." She pulled her feet up onto the couch leaning against his side. Danny automatically moved a hand around her shoulders.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sam seemed to have a great time making it." Danny sipped his beer.

"It looked like you did too." Linda teased.

"It was nice to spend some time with him like that. Especially after everything." Danny looked over to the side of the room where Sam and Spense were playing with Spense's Duplo's, "When I picked him up his Para said that he still wouldn't leave her side today. Not even to use the bathroom without her being right outside the door. He had to use the nurse's restroom so the Para could talk to him through the door. She said he wants to hold her hand in the hall when they move between classrooms." Danny unconsciously ran his fingers through Linda's hair, "I was hoping he was going to get through this unscathed." Danny sighed.

"Me too." Linda whispered. She hung her head as she thought about how she should have never pushed Sam. She was stupid to push Danny to take Sam and to put Sam in a situation he wasn't capable of being in.

"Linda." Danny pulled her close, "This isn't your fault. He'll be okay." 

"I know." Linda nodded her head. She was only replying to the second part of Danny's statement. She knew Sam would be okay. Part of her realized it wasn't her fault. But her heart still hurt to think about what could have happened and her brain still replayed every second over and over again. Linda wasn't sure she'd ever get over the guilt of sending Sam on that trip.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Three weeks passed with little change in Sam's behavior. He loved cooking with Daddy so much it became something for just Danny and Sam to do. On the days he was home early enough Sam and Danny cooked dinner together. It wasn't as good as Linda's but it was something the two enjoyed together. Danny and Sam had even woken up early the past two Saturdays to make everyone breakfast. Jamie was slowly getting better and things were starting to return to normal. When Linda apologized to Margaret and Jamie, they both insisted it wasn't Linda's fault and there was no blame, anger or resentment held towards her. Linda wasn't so sure she believed them. Danny had been kept his eyes on the Rick Walden case. Even though the man was dead the police were still combing the woods finding more and more bodies. The cabin Rick Walden stayed at was so cluttered and full it was taking weeks to get through everything. Detective Parker and Sergeant McNelson were sent to Georgia where Rick was originally from to see if they could find anything about his twenty-seven outstanding warrants and talk to the police department in person, as well as work with the Georgia department to go through Rick Walden's residence. 

Danny's birthday was coming up in a few days and Linda was busy trying to get everything ready. She was determined to have the perfect party for Danny. Her anxiety had been elevated lately. Ever since the guilt of pushing Sam and Danny both manifested she hadn't been able to let that feeling go. She'd talked to Dr. Bennett about it when she and Danny had sessions with her. Danny had even tried to get Linda to see he didn't blame her for anything. That no matter what it wasn't Linda's fault. He wasn't angry with her anymore. He was at first but he worked through it, realizing that he couldn't' be mad at her forever. Sure she made a mistake, but he should have been more firm and stood his ground. They both made mistakes and instead of holding a grudge they should take what happened as a learning moment. Danny was doing that already with Sam. He was carving out more time to spend with  _just_ Sam. He had realized that the extra effort on his part was what Sam needed. Danny never neglected Sam in the past but spending equal time with Sam and the other kids weren't enough. Sam needed that little bit of extra time and he needed it to be consistent. Danny was determined to do whatever was best for his son. Aside from cooking together, Sam and Danny found out that the Lego store nearby had weekly Lego Club meetings. For a flat fee, kids could go to the store during a set time in the middle of the week to learn how to build something. They got to take their Lego construction home as well as get different special items only available to Lego Club Members. Danny signed Sam up as soon as Sam asked him for it. Every Wednesday Danny and Sam slipped out of the house for an hour to go to the Lego meetings together. Sam had even asked if they could take Spense and have a 'boy's night out'. Danny agreed that sounded like a good idea and signed Spense up for the younger group that was able to use the Duplos to make their own special Lego build. While the boys were out Linda and the girls had taken the time to spend together usually playing a board game or putting in a girly movie the boys always grumbled about having to watch.

This particular Monday afternoon, Linda was talking to a few of the nurses in the Emergency Department. They were going over a few new policies that had been approved at that morning's meeting Linda had attended with the hospital administrators.

"We've got multiple MVA's coming in. ETA ten minutes. We're looking at four so far." One of the nurses reported after getting off the radio with the EMT's who were the first to roll up to New York-Presbyterian.

"Let's clear out some trauma rooms and hold the waiting room." Linda said. The nurses quickly split in different directions getting things prepared for the victims of the motor vehicle accident. Linda had no idea that her day was about to go from a normal, routine day to a day from Hell in less than an hour.

* * *

Sergeant McNelson and Detective Parker from the NYPD had gone down to Georgia to find out what they could from the Georgia State Police about Rick Walden.

"Thank you for letting us jump in on this." Sergeant McNelson said to Georgia State Trooper, Kyle Esser.

"Of course. We've been after this guy for years. Glad someone finally caught up to him and took him down. He was a sick son of a bitch."  Trooper Esser said, "Here's the file we have on him."

Sergeant McNelson opened the manila envelope, "Who is this woman? Dominique Hart?" 

"A close friend of Walden. They were roommates down here. Walden had the cabin but he stayed in the city in an apartment he shared with Hart. They claimed they weren't together but evidence suggested otherwise." Trooper Esser explained, "Hart was interviewed and cleared at first. Then we found evidence that Hart was involved in at least two separate incidents. She evaded capture a few years ago and we're still chasing her down. So far we've found nothing that would put her with Walden. We have some evidence to suggest she might have gone out West towards New Mexico. Her credit card was used for a hotel room and to fill up on gas. But after that, we lost her."

"Got a picture in here?" McNelson asked.

"Right here." Esser pulled it out of a secondary file.

"Can we send this up to my Lieutenant?" He asked.

"Sure. You think Hart's in New York?" Esser put both the photo and paper through the fax machine.

"I don't know. But better to keep an eye out. After all, it was our Commissioner that was the one to take Walden down." McNelson said.

"Must be one hell of a PC." Esser said.

"Oh, he is. And it's the family business so I think circulating this around would be a good idea." McNelson pulled out his cell phone to call up to New York and let them know what he found.

* * *

Danny Reagan was sitting behind his desk cursing the fact that he had so much paperwork to do. He hated sitting in the office all day but he couldn't deny the fact that he was off the streets kept his family safer. Though it didn't always seem like that. He was trying to keep his eyes on the silver lining to make his day go by faster.

"Lieutenant Reagan." The desk Sergeant appeared at his door.

"Yeah, come on in." Danny looked up from the papers he was going through.

"Fax came through for you Sir." The Sergeant handed Danny the papers from Georgia.

"Thanks." Danny said appreciatively. He looked down at the file as the Sergeant walked back to his desk. He stared at the photo of the young red-headed woman wondering if she was in the City as well and what part she played, if any, in taking Danny's family. He had no idea that it in sixty minutes he'd find out just how close Domonique was, to avenging the death of Rick Walden.

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

Once the incoming patients were stabilized Linda Reagan gathered her things and headed out to her car. She frowned as she walked outside. The rain was still pouring down hard with thunder in the distance. Linda made it inside the parking garage quickly grumbling to herself about how wet she'd gotten just from the short walk from the hospital doors to the parking garage. She was almost to her car when she heard someone call her from behind.

"Linda?!" The woman shouted.

Linda turned her head over her shoulder. Not recognizing the woman Linda turned around, "Can I help you?" 

"You're Linda Reagan, right? You married Danny Reagan." The woman walked closer to Linda.

"Do I know you?" Linda asked. She put one hand in her pocket carefully grabbing her cell phone.

"We went to school together." The woman continued to walk closer while Linda took a few steps back. Linda was so close to her car. If she could reach it, she'd feel a lot safer than she felt at the moment.

"Sorry, I don't remember you." Linda said unsure of who this woman was, "I really should get going. It was nice to see you." Linda smiled politely. She pushed the automatic button to unlock her car.

"Well at least let me give you a hug!" The woman grabbed Linda before she had time to evade the stranger. Linda put a hand into her purse reaching for her gun when she felt something sharp prick her neck, "We have a lot more catching up to do." The woman smiled as Linda quickly lost consciousness.

* * *

"Okay." Lieutenant Danny Reagan was sitting at his desk with his phone to his ear talking to the Georgia Trooper who had been the first person to take the case of Rick Walden, "Anything to suggest she might have followed Rick up here?" Danny wrote a few notes while he talked, "Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Thank you." Danny hung up the phone and sighed. Something in his gut told him this case wasn't as closed as he'd hoped. Danny stared at the case file for a few moments before his personal cell phone rang. He frowned seeing the school phone number appear, "Reagan." Danny answered out of habit, "Are they okay?....Their mother should be picking them up today...She's not?....Did you try calling her?....How long ago?....I'll see if I can get a hold of her. In the meantime, someone will be around to get the kids. Thank you." Danny immediately called Linda's cell phone when he was done with the school, "Davis!" Danny shouted from his desk.

"Yes, Sir." The officer appeared at the doorway.

"Call Officer Jack Reagan. Tell him to pick up my kids from school." Danny scowled when Linda's phone went to voicemail. Danny stood up from his desk grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair, "I'm headed to New York-Presbyterian." Danny said calling Linda for the third time.

* * *

The first thing Danny did when he pulled up to the hospital was walk to the security officer inside the parking garage. He gave them Linda's license plate, and the make and model of her car to send them on a search of the parking garage to see if her car was still here. He ran into the ER, making his way to her office.

"Lieutenant." One of the nurses smiled at him, "Is everything okay?"

"Have you seen Linda?" He asked her.

"She was on her way out a little while ago. Can I help you with anything?" She asked.

"Anyone with her?" Danny tried to think of why Linda wouldn't answer her phone. He prayed that his first thought of her being hurt wasn't the reason.

The nurse shook her head, "No. Is she okay?" 

"That's what I'm trying to find out. I'm just going to go take a look at her office." Danny turned in the direction of the administration offices. He quickly walked to Linda's. Danny wasn't surprised to find Linda's door locked. He pulled out the key and let himself in. Nothing seemed out of place. Linda's office showed no signs of distress or her leaving in a hurry. He walked around to her desk opening the bottom drawer. She kept her gun and purse in the bottom drawer while she was at work. Both were missing. Her computer was shut down for the night. By all accounts, it looked as if Linda left work like any other day. Danny called her cell phone again, this time it had been turned off. Danny walked out of Linda's office, locking the door behind him when Jack called.

"Hey, Kid." Danny answered his phone.

"Dad, I got the kids. Kathleen is home so I'm dropping them off with her." Jack said the second his father picked up, "What's going on?" 

"Stop by the house after you drop the kids. See if your mother is home. She's not picking up her cell and she's not at work." Danny relayed the information he had at the moment to Jack.

"Sir." One of the security guards walked up to Danny.

"Hold on Jack." Danny said, "Yes." He gave the guard his attention.

"Your wife's car is not on the premises. We have security footage of it leaving the parking garage." The guard told Danny.

"Jack, check the house." Danny said in one last attempt at finding his wife safely before he sent every officer out looking for her, "Then come here. I think your mom is missing." Danny took a deep breath as he hung up the phone. He had no idea that Linda was unconscious in the back of the car while Domonique Hart drove the two of them away from Manhatten, "Let me see this footage." Danny requested. He said a silent prayer that wherever Linda was, she wasn't hurt. He needed her to be okay.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm home. The weekend went great! :) I'll try and update again when I get home from work tonight. :)


	21. Chapter 21

"Get up!" Domonique kicked Linda in the stomach. She'd pulled into a secluded parking lot, adjacent to a small green space with a playground for kids. The parking lot was badly lit and empty. The rain falling hard and fast with thick, fat, raindrops. She planned on dumping Linda's car and taking off in her own vehicle. Linda coughed hard as she started to regain consciousness, "Let's go! C'mon! Move!" Domonique pulled Linda out of Linda's car, "Get in!" She tried to push Linda into the back of an unmarked van.

"No!" Linda pushed back against Domonique. Something inside her told her that if she got into that van, she'd never make it home again, "I'm not going anywhere with you." Linda swung her fist at Domonique, colliding with the woman's jaw, "I don't know who you are or what you want with me but I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Get in the damn van!" Domonique grabbed Linda's shoulders, her nails dug into Linda's skin. She pulled her knee up to Linda's stomach forcing Linda to double over. Dominique took Linda by the hair pulling her head back, "Your pathetic attempt at getting away failed." She scoffed in Linda's face. Little did she know that Linda saw Domonique form a fist and swing towards Linda's face. Linda quickly blocked the punch. She used her body weight to push Domonique back slamming the woman into the side of the van. The shock caused Domonique to let go of Linda's hair. Linda threw two hard punches before backing away. She turned towards her car to start running for it when a bullet whizzed by her head. Domonique had grabbed her gun from the holster on her belt. Linda ran behind a dumpster for cover as Domonique shot at her, "You can run but you can't hide. There's nowhere to go Linda. Nowhere to hide. Come on out and I promise. I'll make it quick and painless." Domonique walked closer and closer to the dumpster where Linda was hiding, "Just come on out. You don't want poor Danny to find your body cowering in fear, do you? I'll make sure I lay you out nice and pretty for when they find your body."

Linda cursed the fact that her cell phone wasn't in her pocket anymore and her purse was in her car, along with her gun. She looked around for anything that would help her escape when her eyes fell upon a piece of trash that just might be enough for a distraction so Linda could get somewhere better than behind a dumpster.

* * *

"Dad!" Jack ran up to his father, "What's going on?! Is Mom okay?!"

"I don't know yet, Jack." Danny shook his head, "So far she's nowhere to be found. But we have this." He pointed to the security footage, "Look. That woman comes up to her, they talk, she hugs your mom and then puts her in the back of the car." Danny frowned, "They are trying to enhance the video so we can see the woman's face better."

"I called Sean and Grandpa. Grandpa is headed home to watch the kids and Sean is coming here with Officer Cruz. Uncle Jamie isn't back to work yet. I didn't know if you wanted me to call him." Jack said.

"Already called him." Danny smiled softly to his son who had taken it upon himself to take care of everything he could while his father was preoccupied, "Good work."

"Thank you, Sir." Jack nodded his head.

"We lost your mothers cell signal here." Danny showed Jack on the map he'd pulled up on his phone, "And TARU is working on the GPS in her car."

"You put GPS on Mom's car?" Jack asked, "Does she know that?"

"Yes to both." Danny replied. He looked back to where an officer was working on enhancing the video, "Hey pull that up again!" Danny tapped the officer on the shoulder.

"Here you are, Lieutenant." The officer pulled up the last screenshot he was looking at.

"Oh my God!" Danny gasped, "That's Walden's associate." 

"What? Rick Walden? Psycho that tried to kill us?!" Jack asked.

"One in the same." Danny said, "Get this out to every unit. I want her name and face on everyone's computer and over the radio. She's going to kill my wife."

"Dad?" Jack shook his head. He couldn't believe it. The man who terrorized Jack's family had someone helping him, who now had his mother.

"I'm sure of it." Danny took a copy of the paper the officer had printed out for him, "We have to find her before Hart hurts her." Danny, Jack, and Jack's partner, Officer Roy, ran out of the ER, "You two follow me! We'll head East and follow the phone until it we lose the trail! Let's hope by then TARU will have the location of her car!" Danny shouted through the rain. He got in his car and flipped the lights and sirens on. Jack quickly followed behind his father racing in the direction Dominique took Linda.

* * *

"C'mon Linda! Come out!" Dominique crept closer and closer to Linda.

Linda took a deep breath, preparing herself. He gripped the thick heavy piece of wood praying she'd hit Dominique before she could pull the trigger. When Linda heard the click of Dominique's boots right behind her Linda stood up quickly and swung. She hit Dominique so hard the woman fell backward onto the pavement. Her gun flew out of her hand to the grass. Linda kicked the gun farther away. She ran for her car again hoping she'd make it. If she could get to her car she could get away. Her heart hammered in her chest as she pushed herself to make it across the parking lot. Linda screamed when she felt a hand wrap around her ankle. Dominique grabbed Linda, yanking her down. Linda put her hands in front of her to brace herself as she fell to the ground. Her glasses fell off her face smashing to pieces. Linda kicked with her other leg aiming for Dominique's head only to find she missed. Dominique grabbed Linda's other ankle. She flipped the woman onto her back.

"I was going to be nice when I killed you! Now I'll make you suffer!" Dominique pinned Linda to the ground. She put her knees on Linda's hips and held Linda's hands by the wrists above Linda's head.

Linda thought quickly. Danny had shown her how to get out of this position. Linda put her knees together pulling them up. She leaned forward as if she was trying to sit up then pulled herself back quickly to flip them over so she was on top of Dominique. Linda pulled her hand back hitting Dominique with as much force as she could. She needed to get away from this woman. Linda punched Dominique again before trying to stand. She kicked the woman in the stomach when she saw Dominique's hand moving up and down. That's when she felt it. The sharp pain in her leg. Dominique was stabbing her with a pocket knife she'd pulled out of her boot. Linda stumbled as she lost her balance. She tried to stay on her feet but it was impossible. Linda fell to the ground. Dominique plunged the knife into Linda's stomach over and over before finally sticking it into Linda's chest. Linda's breaths became more and more erratic as she fought for air. Her heart leapt to her throat as she could do nothing but watch as Dominique stood. She walked to the grass to retrieve her gun. Linda's vision was fading fast. Dominique sauntered over to where Linda lay dying in the parking lot.

"It didn't have to end like this." Dominique spit at Linda, "You had to go and make it hard on yourself." She cocked the gun, pointing it at Linda's head, "Any last words?" She grinned at Linda.

"Yeah." Linda took a deep breath, "Screw you." Linda pulled the knife from her own chest and slammed it into Dominique's thigh. She dragged the knife down slicing through Dominique's femoral artery. Blood gushed from her leg as she fell to the ground. Linda plunged the knife into Dominique's neck with the last bit of strength she had before her body gave out. Dominique's gun went off, the shot ringing through the empty parking lot as the rain mixed with blood turning the parking lot into a pool of red as the two women slowly bled out.

 

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

Danny Reagan raced towards where Linda's car was found. TARU had pinpointed the location of her car. It was stopped just outside of Manhatten near a children's playground. Danny was being followed by Jack and Layla. They were quickly joined by an ESU team, and multiple marked and unmarked cars. It seemed like the whole NYPD fleet was on their way to rescue Linda Reagan. Danny had an ambulance on standby praying he wouldn't have to call them in.

Danny pulled into the parking lot his lights and sirens blaring in the empty parking lot. Danny wasn't sure he was still breathing when he saw two bodies on the ground. He jumped out of his car, "Call a bus!" He shouted at Jack, "LINDA!" Danny carefully approached the scene with his gun out. He wanted to rush to his wife but needed to be sure the scene was secure. The ESU team joined Danny to secure the scene while Danny ran to his wife, "LINDA!" Danny dropped to the ground beside his bloody wife, "Oh my God!" Linda was lying still on the ground. She was unconscious with blood pouring out of her body. Danny saw the stab wounds, "Oh God, Linda. No, no, no. Baby. Oh God." Danny felt for a pulse. Tears filled his eyes as he barely found one. It was there but it was slowly fading, "C'mon baby, open your eyes. Wake up honey." Danny begged his wife. He watched the multiple wounds continuously bleed. Danny heard the sirens of an ambulance in the distance, "It's okay. It's okay, Linda. You're going to be okay. Just hold on. Just a little longer Baby." Danny pleaded with his wife's unconscious body. Not soon enough for Danny, two paramedics ran to his side, "Help her. Help her. Please." Danny helped the paramedics load Linda onto the gurney. They wasted no time getting her strapped and in the ambulance. Danny sat beside Linda while one of the men did everything he could to stall the blood coming out of Linda's body. Danny lost time. He swore he could have blinked and they were at the hospital and Linda was being unloaded from the ambulance. Danny stayed as close to the gurney as possible until he was held back by a nurse.

"Sir, you can't go with her anymore. We're taking her straight to surgery." The nurse said.

"That's my wife!" Danny put his hand in the air.

"I understand Sir. But you can't go with her. You can't. You have to stay here. They have to get her in surgery right away." The nurse told him, "Is there anyone I should call for you?'

"Danny?!" Margaret noticed her brother-in-law looking distraught as she walked down the hall. She knew Linda was missing. Jamie had sent over two patrol officers to watch over Margaret as she worked her shift, "Danny, what's going on?" Margaret asked him.

"Linda's in surgery." Danny shook his head.

"Thank God you found her!" Margaret sighed in relief, "What happened?"

"I don't know. She was bleeding all over and she was unconscious. They just...took her away from me." Danny took a deep breath.

"I'll call Jamie and get the family here. You sit down over here." Margaret showed Danny to a private family waiting area, "I'll go see what I can find out."

Danny nodded his head, "Thanks." He slumped in the first chair he could find. Danny put his head in his hands as he prayed that his wife would make it through.

* * *

21:42

Danny Reagan looked at his watch again. It was getting later and later with no update on Linda. Margaret had been running back and forth doing the best she could to keep everyone aware of what was going on but there had been nothing new in over an hour.

21:43

Danny watched as another minute went by. Another minute where he was unsure of his wife's condition. Another minute to pray.

21:44

Jack sat with his arm around Kathleen. Elijah in his lap and Josh in hers. Maddie and Will sat with the other kids watching videos and playing on their electronic devices.

21:45

Sam moved from his spot near Faith to the chair beside his father. He yawned, "Daddy? Ith Mommy okay?" He asked innocently.  

Danny hugged Sam tight, "She's going to be just fine." He lied. Danny had no idea if Linda was okay or not. But right now she needed to be. She needed to be okay for their children and for Danny who couldn't think of anything other than seeing Linda's eyes, hearing her voice, feeling her heartbeat. 

21:46

Jamie and Margaret spoke in hushed voices with Frank while they supervised the kids. All three praying Linda would survive.

21:47

Danny stared at his watch as another minute ticked by. He hated waiting. He just wanted Linda to be okay. How could he not have seen this coming?

21:48

The sound of footsteps approaching caught Danny's attention. He looked up from the spot on the floor he'd memorized.

"Family of Linda Reagan?" The doctor stepped into the room.

"I'm her husband." Danny stood, "Is she okay?"

"Linda suffered some very severe wounds. Particularly a shot to her abdomen and a puncture wound to her chest." The doctor said, "She lost a lot of blood. She's very lucky. If she was put in the ambulance any later, we might be having a different discussion. She's pulled through surgery. It's going to be a rocky forty-eight-hours but we are hopeful she will make it through the woods."

"Can we thee Mommy?" Sam asked.

The doctor looked around the room, "I can allow small groups for a few minutes each. But the only one that will be allowed to stay with her will be her husband. She's still in a very fragile state and should something happen we need to be able to quickly get to her."

Danny nodded his head, "Okay." Danny said.

"Danny, why don't you go see her for a little bit. The kids can wait." Frank suggested.

"No." Danny shook his head, "I'll take Sam, Grace, Faith, and Spense." Danny thought of who to take first.

"Then I'll come too. That way you can just stay with her. I'll bring these guys out and send someone else in." Frank put a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny nodded, "Yeah. Okay." He completely forgot about his father seeing Linda. Danny picked up Spense in his arms and held Faith's hand while Sam took his Grandfather's hand and Grace picked at her nails while they walked down the hall to Linda's room.

"Ith Mommy gonna die?" Sam asked.

"No." Danny shook his head, "Mommy's just really hurt right now. But she's going to be okay." Danny smiled softly, "Okay. No jumping or climbing on the bed. We don't want to hurt Mommy any more than she already is." Danny said to all the kids.

They walked into the room quietly filing in. Danny pulled a chair up next to the bed letting Sam and Faith share it. Grace leaned on the arm of the chair while Danny held onto Spense.

"Hey, Baby." Danny pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead, "The kids, Dad and I are here. We love you so much." Danny whispered, "When you wake up, I'll be right here."

"We love you, Mommy." Faith said sadly.

"Momma teeping!" Spense pointed to his Mommy.

"Yeah. Mommy's sleeping." Danny hugged the little boy tight.

"I mithted you Mommy." Sam frowned.

"I love you, Mom." Grace sighed.

"Linda, don't you worry about Danny. I'll watch over him until you're better." Frank smiled at his daughter-in-law, "Alright you kids. C'mon. Let's let Sean and Jack take a turn in here. Besides, you all should get to bed soon." Frank took Spense from Danny's arms. Danny hugged and kissed each of his children before hugging his father, "She's going to be okay, Son."

"Oh God, I hope you're right." Danny held back tears in his eyes. He sat beside Linda as Jack, Kathleen, and their kids came in the room for a few minutes. Sean, Lucy, and their children were next followed by Jamie, Margaret, and their kids. Then Danny was left alone with her. Alone to watch every machine. Read every number as they changed. He brushed the hair from her face, "You're amazing." He said softly, "Come back to me." Danny pressed his lips to Linda's in a short chaste kiss, "I love you." Danny took Linda's hand in his. He had no intention of moving an inch until Linda forced him to move.

 


	23. Chapter 23

Seventeen hours later Danny felt Linda squeeze his hand. Her face scrunched up and her eyes fluttered open, "Hey gorgeous." Danny smiled up at her. His eyes shined with unshed tears.

"D...Danny?" Linda mumbled. 

Danny stood beside her bed, immediately pressing the call button for the nurse, "Yeah. I'm right here." Danny pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "I'm here."

Linda coughed roughly, "My chest hurts." She frowned.

"You were really hurt." Danny held back his own tears, "What else hurts? Are you okay? The nurse is coming." Danny unconsciously started to panic. When Linda said her chest hurt and the loud cough she had didn't sit well with him.

"Everything okay in here?!" Three nurses rushed into the room.

"She's awake." Danny said.

"Oh good!" One nurse smiled wide, "Let's take a look. Can you tell me what hurts?" The other two nurses adjusted a few monitors before slipping out of the room.

"My chest. It feels really tight." Linda took a deep breath.

"That woudl be from the surgery." The nurse said, "Lay back down for me." She gently instructed, "I'm just going to take a little look, and change the bandage." She said before peeling back Linda's hospital gown. She did the best she could to keep Linda covered, however, the knife had plunged into her chest almost directly in the center near her breast bone, "This is healing up nicely." She said as she changed the dressing, "Can I get you anything? Are you in pain or is it more just the pressure and tightness?"

"Pressure and tightness. " Linda replied.

"Okay." The nurse nodded her head. She took a look at Linda's IV bags, and her chart, "I'll have the doctor come see you in a few minutes. Okay." She grinned as she left the room.

The nurse had barely left the room before the doctor appeared, "Someone's awake!" 

"She just woke up." Danny put an arm around her shoulders. He wished he could pick Linda up and hold her in his lap until she was healed.

"Everything looks good." The doctor said as he read over her chart, "Alright." He smiled, "So Linda, you've probably noticed the tightness in the chest. Your heart was knicked with the knife, that's what caused the most blood loss. The surgery will keep you very tired for a few weeks and your body had been through a lot of trauma so it's going to need time to cool down and regroup. Right now, as long as things keep looking good we're only going to keep you for a few days before sending you home." The doctor stated, "Take as much time as you can to rest and if you need anything or if you feel any pain just page for the nurse."

"Thank you." Linda nodded her head. She didn't need him to go into detail. She'd read her own chart later. When she wasn't so tired and sore. Right now, nothing seemed better than Linda Reagan dozing off in the arms of her husband while the doctor's voice faded in the background as her eyes slipped closed.

* * *

"Danny. I can open the car door." Linda sighed.

"I know that." Danny said opening the door for her anyway. Linda was finally being released from the hospital. Danny had barely let her move an inch without doing it for her. Linda was convinced he was going to buy her a shower stool so she could sit while he cleaned her.

Linda let Danny help her into their car, "You know you will have to go back to work soon." She reminded him of his limited days off.

"Jamie's still not back to work. He can sit and yell at you to sit down all day." Danny laughed as he carefully shut Linda's door.

Linda rolled her eyes, "Since when do I have to listen to Jamie?" She smiled.

"Since I'm not going to be home and I want you...." Danny was cut off by Linda.

"Safe." Linda finished his sentence. She reached across the center console, "I know." Linda brought Danny's hand to her lips kissing it softly, "I love you."

Danny squeezed her hand, "I love you." 

"Are you okay?" Linda asked. Danny had been quiet most of the day. She would have thought he would have talked her ear off by now to tell her what the kids had been up to. She knew they had to be _surprising_  her with something sweet. She never came home from the hospital to an empty house. Danny had always gone to get her flowers or candy or something special she can have when she got home. Danny almost always spoiled the surprise. 

Today, however, he leaned over to kiss Linda's cheek, "I'm okay." 

"If you're sure." Linda pressed him gently wishing he'd open up a little for her.

"I'm sure." He grinned. Danny put the car in gear, carefully driving them through Manhatten to Brooklyn. From the hospital to home. Their home where he knew they'd be safe. Where he knew no one could hurt his family. Where no matter what happened, every Reagan would find their way back to. Home, where it didn't matter whose fault it was. What mattered was how you fixed the problem. How you owned up to your mistake. Home, where his heart and soul not only lived but thrived. Home, where he could hold his most precious people in his arms and surround them with love and acceptance. Danny Reagan drove his wife home, the only thing answer when someone asked him how he survived everything he'd been through. He survived to get home. Because he made a promise to his wife. His kids needed his guidance. His wife needed his love. Because he wasn't done yet. He wasn't ready yet. He needed his family. But, most of all, he and Linda survived together, because they wanted to go home.

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

A month later the Reagan family was still recuperating from their ordeal. Jamie was back at work with Margaret checking in on him a little more often than usual. Danny had been making more of an effort to spend time with  _just_ Sam. The two had fallen into a routine of cooking breakfast on Saturday mornings when Danny was home. While they cooked Linda, Faith, and Grace spent time together with or without Spense. He bounced from the kitchen to the living room depending on what he wanted to do that day. Jack and Kathleen had started their own family tradition to spend time together. Every Saturday night they had family movie night. Jack did everything he could to ensure he was home for Kathleen and the kids. The twins were getting so big so fast. Jack could hardly believe he had four-month-old twins already. Sean and Lucy had an announcement to make at dinner today. Linda had been up almost all night wondering what it could be.

Linda stood in the closet looking for a dress to wear to church that morning when she felt Danny's arms slip around her waist, "You planning on getting dressed today?" He lightly teased her. After all, she'd been standing in the closet since he got up to take a shower almost twenty minutes ago.

"I just can't seem to find something to wear." Linda frowned. It seemed every dress she wanted to wear had a neckline that showed the tip of the scar on her chest. Those that didn't show the scar were still too close for comfort. The weather outside was beautiful for mid-April. Linda couldn't justify a higher neckline when the weather would be so warm out.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked. He looked around the closet to Linda's numerous dresses, "You have plenty to wear today." He said confused as to what she was talking about.

"I don't know." Linda sighed.

"What's wrong?" Danny pressed his lips to her neck.

"Do you want a list?" Linda said sarcastically. She felt Danny sigh while holding her, "I'm sorry. I just...." Linda searched for the right words, "I can't find anything that covers this thing up."

Danny put a hand on her chest, flattening his palm against her skin, "You don't have to worry about covering it up." He wasn't sure what he could do to help his wife at the moment.

"It's ugly." Linda frowned.

"No part of you could ever be ugly." Danny said softly, "Any dress you wear will look beautiful on you. Do you know why?" Danny asked with a smile.

Linda leaned back against her husband, "Why?" 

"Because you're beautiful." Danny replied, "Because no matter what scar you may have on your body, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Danny hugged her tight.

"People will stare. I haven't' been to church in a few weeks now. They haven't seen this. They will ask and stare at it." Linda aired her worries.

"They stare because you're stunning." Danny grinned, "And if they ask you don't have to talk about it. You don't owe anyone anything. Besides, I'll be beside you." Danny looked around Linda's side of the closet, "Here." He pulled one of Linda's favorite dresses out. Though he couldn't deny it was one of his favorites. He always loved his wife in blue. This dress was no exception, "You'll look gorgeous." He smiled.

"I'll take a sweater too." Linda pulled a sweater out to put over her dress hoping the sweater made her feel more comfortable. Since she'd been home the last month she'd practically lived in pajamas, sweatpants, and t-shirts. Each top carefully covering her scar. She hated it. It felt like it was front and center for everyone to gawk at, "I love you." Linda said wishing she could stay in her husband's arms for the day. She was nervous about going to church that morning.

* * *

Linda sat next to Danny in the church pew. Sam sat on the other side of Danny with Faith and Grace beside him. Frank sat at the end of the pew with the kids next to him. Spense sat on his Mommy's lap looking through a book Linda had dug out of the diaper bag. They tried to drop him off at the child care center in the church but he cried for his Mommy and Daddy. Linda hugged her little boy close while the sermon continued. Danny's arm around her shoulders and her baby in her lap made her feel more comfortable than when she first left the house that morning. Next to Linda sat Jack and Kathleen with Maddie. Gus, Josh, and Elijah were in the child care center. Sean and Lucy with Emma, Ava, and Charlie took up the far end of the pew. On the end were Margaret and Jamie. Will and Jo both also in the child care center. Linda sat surrounded by her family trying to focus on the sermon but all that she could think about was how lucky she was to have the people she loved beside her.

* * *

Back at home dinner was finally ready. Linda was the last to take her place at the table after bringing Spense his cup. Frank took his turn saying Grace.

Before the family could eat Sean spoke up, "We'd like to say something before we all eat." Sean smiled.

"I'm quitting my job." Lucy said. She squeezed Sean's hand for support, "We've figured out the bills and things and I can stay home with the kids." She took a deep breath.

"Even with them all in school all day?" Kathleen asked.

Lucy nodded her head, "They are but..." Lucy looked to Sean. It was almost too hard to speak.

"Lucy is sixteen weeks pregnant." Sean broke the news, "We didn't want to say anything until she passed twelve weeks and she's been taking time off but with her history and what's happened before we don't want to risk anything. Things will be tight but we don't want to risk either her or the baby. So the best, safest, healthiest thing for both of them is for her to stay home and rest and not push herself." Sean told them.

"We didn't even plan it. And we weren't...it just...it happened and we are just being really careful so we don't lose the baby." Lucy's voice cracked as she spoke. The fear in her voice was heard by everyone at the table.

"We're all here for you." Jamie smiled at them both.

"Danny and I will help out with anything you two need. All you have to do is call." Linda smiled warmly.

"Any time you need one of us." Danny said.

"Congratulations you two." Frank grinned.

"That's great news." Margaret said. She and Jamie had been trying to have a baby but so far they hadn't been successful. She wished nothing but great things for Sean and Lucy. Especially with what they'd gone through with the last pregnancy.

"Yeah, you guys. That's awesome." Jamie congratulated the two of them.

Dinner passed with the family congratulating Lucy and Sean. All of them promising to help with anything they could need through the pregnancy and beyond. Linda smiled as she looked around the table. Everyone was so happy for Lucy and Sean. She prayed they'd have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby arrive. Linda felt Danny take her hand in his. She may have new scars. Ones that she hated but without them, she wouldn't feel so strong and loved. Her scars were a reminder of what she'd been through and what she'd survived. She leaned against Danny just slightly, knowing that without him she'd never have been able to get through all the tough times they'd gotten through or get through the ones they'd yet to encounter. Linda was never more thankful for her husband, or her children, for her whole family than she was after she realized just how lucky and blessed they were to have each other. She was sure things wouldn't be perfect. Nothing in life ever was. But she knew that with their family full of love and support they'd survive anything life could throw at them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the next story idea in my head. Now time to plan it out! Hope you all enjoyed this one! It was SO much fun to write!


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